A Beacon of Light
by delypanda
Summary: A family with a secret. A girl with her own secret. What happens when two worlds collide? A tale of learning to love yourself, and to enjoy life no matter how many lemons are thrown at you. Emmett/oc
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Nothing from Stephanie Meyer is mine. I don't own sparkly vampires.**_

Summary: A family with a secret. A girl with her own secret. What happens when two worlds collide? A tale of learning to love yourself, and to enjoy life no matter how many lemons are thrown at you. Emmett/oc

* * *

 **-CHAPTER 1-**

" _The people that actually try to stay in your life are the only ones you ever need."_

* * *

"What?!" A yell broke through the chattering of the cafeteria, followed almost instantaneously by a loud crash, causing the eyes of all students in the vicinity to dart towards that table where two girls were at. One of them, a blonde, was standing with her hands on the table – apparently, she had stood up so fast her chair had clattered to the floor hence, the loud bang.

"Sorry." She cringed, quickly righting her chair and flashing an apologetic smile to the people sitting at the neighboring table before turning to her tablemate. She demanded in a hushed whisper-shout. "You're moving? Where? Why?"

"I'll tell you everything, Tiff. Just calm down!" The other girl, a brunette, glared at her.

"No! I can't, Lori!" She hissed, hands flying about agitatedly. "We were supposed to go to prom together! You're abandoning me?!"

Lori winced. "Yeah, about that, sorry. Really."

"Sorry?! You-!" Tiffany huffed, before collapsing onto the table, burying her face in her arms.

The brunette's blue eyes nearly popped out of her head. Didn't she know just how dirty their school's cafeteria tables were? Who knew what had been dropped there and god knows how often they were cleaned.

"Tiff, don't be a butt." Lori sighed, crossing her arms. "And do you know how _dirty_ these tables are? You're going to have a breakout."

The blonde snarled.

 _Well, okay. Grumpy much?_

However, this tantrum was something Lori had expected. Her best friend had just had a particularly bad breakup with a cheating ass of a boyfriend who was going to go to prom with his new armcandy. Bastard. Tiffany had been counting on her to be her 'buffer' there. Though, for the life of her, Lori couldn't understand why her friend wouldn't just not go to prom but apparently, it was important for her to keep up the image that she was doing fine and not hung up over him.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright? But we're doing it for our mother."

Forgetful, a little naïve, childish and fickle-minded. Renee Dwyer, Lori's lovely mother, that she and her sister, Bella, took care of more than she took care of them. Make no mistake, Renee was their mother and they loved her, but she wasn't really the best mother material.

But she loved her two daughters wholeheartedly. And that's what mattered the most.

Every time Phil, their minor league baseball player step-dad, left for a game – and it wasn't seldom – it was like Renee crumpled in on herself, bringing an aura of gloom wherever she went. The two sisters honestly couldn't take seeing their mother mope around the house like someone had kicked her puppy and then set it on fire just for kicks. Renee had said she was fine, that she couldn't leave them alone but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

Therefore, Bella and Lori, being the kind and loving daughters that they were, offered to go stay with their father in the small town of Forks near Seattle so that Renee could go traipsing around the world with Phil. Renee had of course, claimed that they didn't need to and that she was alright staying behind with them, but Lori could already see the beginning of a spark in her eyes at the idea. Lori really didn't want to hold her mother back from being with Phil when it clearly made her happy.

Staring at the blonde's figure slumped over the table, Lori knew that Tiffany knew that too. She had been invited over to the Dwyer residence enough to know just how much Renee missed Phil. It was unmissable.

"Prom's on a Friday night, isn't it? Don't go – screw Jackson – why don't you drive down to Forks for the weekend instead? I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind."

"Really? You think so?" Tiffany peeked at the brunette sitting opposite her over her arms.

"Yeah, I know so." Lori grinned. "C'mon, we'll have a girly sleepover. No boy talk. We'll paint our nails, watch sappy movies, binge on ice cream, all that. It'll be fun."

"Okay." She snorted, wagging her pinky finger in her friend's face. "You better not forget about me once you're there."

Lori wouldn't. She always treated her friends well, and Tiffany was a friend to be treasured. Someone who knew the dreadfulness of being alone in a place full of people, would never abandon a friend unless they were the one abandoned first.

"Pinky promise." Lori laughed, linking her finger with Tiffany's. Her pleasant smile widened. "If I break it, you can cut my finger off."

"That's gross." Tiffany cringed, shying away from her friend. "You watch too many yakuza movies. What would I do with your finger anyway?"

"Frame it? Bury it? 'Here lies Lorraine Grace Swan's little finger, as a lesson to never break your promises'."

It wasn't clear who gave in first, but both girls burst into laughter at the same time.

"I'll miss you, Lori." Tiffany smiled sadly.

"I'll miss you too, Tiff."

* * *

Apart from leaving behind her friends, Lori wasn't as bummed as Bella was to be moving to Forks. Of all the places to move to, she thought Forks was a pretty alright place. The colder weather there was definitely more to her taste than the sweltering Phoenix heat, having always preferred being cold and freezing to being hot and sweating. And as a fortunate bonus, her favorite leather jackets and boots would finally be able to see the light of day. Lovingly taking them out from where they had been stuffed into the back of her closet, she folded them into her suitcase. She already couldn't wait to try them out.

As far as small towns went, it wouldn't make much of a difference in her lifestyle. Except that people there might be nosier, since she doubted that many people moved in instead of leaving the town. Any new face would be immediately noticed. Well, she wasn't planning on doing _anything_ outside of her room anyway.

There was a series of loud thumps, startling Lori and sending her to the doorway of her room to see what the matter was. She paused, taking in the sight before her.

"..What are you doing?" Lori eyed her fraternal twin sister, older by six minutes, weirdly.

The girl was sat awkwardly on the floor, holding her foot in hand, before the steps leading downstairs. She wouldn't even look up at Lori, clearly embarrassed at whatever mishap had happened. There was no need to be embarrassed though. The whole town was probably well aware of what a klutz the older Swan was.

"I was trying to bring my bags down but I slippedanddroppeditonmytoe.."

"Come again? I didn't quite hear that last part."

"I said, I slipped and dropped it on my toe!" Bella didn't have to look up to know that her younger sister was trying hard – and failing – to hold back her laughter. It was very obvious in her teasing tone.

Lori couldn't help but laugh as her sister stared forlornly at the suitcase burst open at the bottom of the stairs, clothes lying everywhere. It was a look she knew very well, having seen it for years. It was the one that said Bella was lamenting the existence of her two left feet, and her complete inability to do anything gracefully.

"Stay right there, Bells! Don't want you hurting yourself more or mom won't let us move to Forks." She darted back into her room to grab her own suitcase, wheeling it out to where Bella was still sat at the top of the stairs, because she might as well only make one trip down the stairs instead of down to pack Bella's things and then back up for her own bags.

Bella pursed her lips, mood taking a downturn at the mention of the small town.

"Is your foot alright? Does it hurt badly?"

She took her eyes off Lori to scrutinize her foot. There was a red blotch on the bridge of her foot spreading to her toes certain to become a great big ugly bruise the next day. She inhaled sharply when she accidentally brushed too hard against the tender skin, but nothing was starting to swell and her ankle didn't hurt either.

"Just a bruise, I think. Lori?" Bella frowned, looking around when she didn't see her.

"What?" She called up the stairs, already starting on folding the last quarter of her older sister's clothes back into the bag. "Just a bruise? That's good!"

Bella furrowed her brows, confused. She was just up here, how did she carry such a heavy bag down the stairs so quickly? And she didn't remember hearing any sounds of the wheels of the suitcase clacking against the wooden stairs either.

"Bella? What's wrong?"

"No, nothing." Lori must have been stronger than Bella thought she was.

* * *

Standing before the departure hall at the airport, the four of them made a typical picture of a mother and her husband sending off their children. Amused father, nearly hysterical with worry mother, one amused daughter and one miserably resigned but trying not to let it show daughter.

"Girls, are you sure you want to do this? Are you really sure?"

The two girls shared a glance before turning back to their mother.

"Yeah." Bella shifted, fingers picking at her jacket in her arms.

"Yes, mom. We're sure. Seriously. The tickets are booked, Dad's ready for us, and we're already here. How many more times are you going to ask us that?" Lori huffed in an exasperated manner, but the fond smile on her face told a different story.

"Hey, don't talk to your mother like that." Phil stared down at her sternly but his eyes were twinkling, and he immediately gave up the facade when she stuck her tongue out at him. He made a grab for her tongue, hand darting forward in a flash, causing her to squeal and dart behind her mother for protection. Not that Renee was much of shield, being roughly the same height as both her daughters.

"That's criminal." Lori grumbled, giving the three of them a good laugh at her disgusted scowl. "Mom, he's bullying your daughter."

"Oh, I can't believe you're really going to go." Renee's voice was nearly a whimper, and Phil affectionately drew her into a side hug, stroking his hand down her head a few times for good measure.

"Mom, _we're_ _fine_. I want to go."

Lori almost snorted. The expression on Bella's face was more of a grimace than a smile, but apparently, it was believable enough for Renee and Phil to not notice. She still couldn't understand why Bella didn't like Forks so much. Yes, it was as much of a small town as it could be; no big malls, lesser people, everyone knew everybody, and simply put, there was nothing much to do there but it wasn't as though Bella was a very outgoing person that needed the hype of city life. In fact, Bella couldn't stand any sort of attention at all. If anything, she would have thought that it would be better for Bella there.

"Call – no, what am I thinking? You're both _teenagers_ , you won't want to call your mom everyday-"

"Renee, don't worry. Charlie will take care of them and if he's too busy, Lori will take care of Bella." Phil chortled at Bella's indignant 'Hey!'. "In any case, they'll be alright. Now, scoot, or you'll miss your flight." He gave the two them rough pats on the head before ushering them along.

"I love you girls!" Renee cried, waving.

"Love you too, mom." The sisters chorused together, sharing a smile at their unintended synchronization.

Spotting Bella's melancholy expression as they watched their view of their parents get swallowed up by the crowd as they went further into the airport, Lori gave her a nudge.

"C'mon, Bells! Lighten up! I'm sure Forks will be better than what you think it is!" Linking their arms together – half in a show of camaraderie, half to make sure Bella didn't trip over herself or get lost – she tugged Bella along. Beaming at her older twin, her smile widened when she saw that Bella's lips tilted up in a small smile in return.

 _Yes, Lori had a feeling that everything would turn out better than fine in Forks._

* * *

Bella blanched at the sight before her.

After disembarking the plane, they had found Charlie waiting for them at the arrival hall. He hadn't changed at all, Lori thought fondly. Same old moustache. Same old stern face – though he was really just a gruff teddy bear. They had exchanged greetings and pleasantries as they rolled their suitcases to the carpark. Lori had to stifle a giggle more than once at the stilted way the other two tried to talk.

Lori tried not to be surprised though she could tell Bella was horrified at the police cruiser sitting in front of them. She had kind of expected it because Charlie was the Chief of Police after all but at the same time, she hadn't expected it.

"How did you manage to handle these suitcases?" Charlie grunted as he heaved them into the boot of his car. "They're not as heavy as I expected but they're still too heavy for you girls to carry."

Oblivious, Charlie carried on while the two stunned girls stopped in their tracks.

"Bella can't, of course." Lori flicked her gaze from watching Charlie struggle to Bella, wagging her eyebrows at her. She had to jump to the side to dodge a halfhearted swat.

"Yeah, Lori did most of the hard carrying."

She grinned at the smile playing on Bella's lips, glad that her playing around had helped to ease the awkward air between father and daughter. The two of them were much too alike in their personalities. Maybe that's why they were never able to bond too well, both being natural conversation killers. But she had an inkling that sometimes, her upbeat personality put her father at a lost too. He was too awkward to continue the conversation, not knowing how to react. At times, she wondered, how did the awkward young adult Charlie manage to date and marry young exuberant Renee?

Lori watched as their father's gaze swept over her slight frame – nearly identical to Bella's; pale and slim, looking like she never did a day of exercise in her life – in response to Bella's statement. He didn't say anything but the disbelief in his gaze was obvious. She just knew what he was thinking. _Where in the world are those muscles hidden in such a skinny body?_

"Right here, dad. Right here." Drawing her sleeves up, Lori flexed her biceps, whistling lowly as she did so. "Look at th-"

"Stop that!" Bella hissed, pulling Lori's arm back down, eyes darting around as though to check whether her younger sister's ridiculous display had attracted any eyes to them. The attention-grabbing cruiser was already more than she wanted to handle. She didn't need to deal with Lori's antics as well. "Let's just go." She huffed, pushing Lori towards the car.

"Alright, alright. Stop pushing." Noticing the rising telltale flush on Bella's cheeks, she decided to give her sister a break and got into the passenger seat.

And so, the police car carrying the Chief and his daughters drove away towards Forks.

After a while of staring out the window watching the scenery – trees, trees, and more trees – flash past, Charlie's voice broke the silence.

"You," He started, before clearing his throat. "Your hair, Bells, it's longer."

There was a slight questioning lilt to his voice, as though he didn't really know what to talk about but was grasping at straws anyway, choosing hair as the topic probably because they were females.

Lori, admiring the courage he had have to pluck up to start a conversation with his teenage daughters he hadn't seen in a few years, hoped with all her heart that Bella would reply nicely but she was stuck in a dilemma. She knew Bella had actually cut her hair but she didn't want her to shut him down so quickly and hurt his feelings when he was being so brave. Mind whirling, she chanced a look backwards to see how Bella was going to reply, only to meet the same deer-caught-in-headlights look from Bella.

"I cut it since the last time I saw you." She blurted out, before recoiling back into her seat at seeing Lori's glare.

"Oh. I guess it grew out again."

Lori cringed, thumping her forehead against the window. What kind of conversation was this? This was going to be bad for her heart.

But at the very least, crisis adverted.

And then, Charlie spoke again. "I found a good car – you two will have to share – but it's really cheap."

Lori kept silent, turning her head to quirk an eyebrow at Bella in the backseat.

"What kind of car?"

She could hear the half-suspicious half-interested tone in Bella's voice. It didn't really matter what car it was though since she probably wouldn't get to drive it unless necessary. She'd be just sitting in it relaxed for 99 percent of the time. Beyond the basic knowledge of engine capacity and brands, Lori didn't really know anything about cars. That was more of Bella's forte. Who knows what kind of car Bella was expecting in this small town though.

"Well, it's a truck, actually. A Chevy."

"A truck?" Lori echoed. She'd never driven a truck before. Was there any difference in driving a truck and a car? She hoped she wouldn't dent or scratch the truck but it was probably inevitable. She already dreaded the thought of driving. Driving their car back in Phoenix had already given her the reputation of being a bad driver – Lori had ultimately been banned from driving alone and Bella had been unofficially appointed chauffeur after a particularly bad incident involving the car looking like a bandito wrap around a pillar. She didn't know how it had happened either. How was she to handle a truck when she couldn't handle a normal saloon car?

"Where did you get it from?" Bella questioned.

"Do you remember Billy Black down at the Rez, La Push?"

"No."

"Vaguely." Lori hummed. "Something about fishing and mud pies."

Charlie shot an appreciative glance at Lori, before glancing inquisitively at Bella. "Yeah, he used to go fishing with us in the summer before. You really don't remember?"

At her blank stare, Charlie continued on. "Well, he's in a wheelchair now-"

"What?" Lori gasped. "How is he?"

"He's fine, used to it already but anyway, he can't drive anymore and offered to sell me his truck cheap."

"What year is it?" Bella asked, but Lori knew she most likely wouldn't like the answer. A truck that Billy drove. Well, it must be pretty old.

"Billy's done a lot of work on the engine, so it's only a few years old, really." It was clear that he was trying to dodge the question but Bella wouldn't give up.

"When did he buy it?"

Charlie sighed, appearing to have given up when Bella was that relentless in getting the information out of him. "1984, I think."

"Was it new, then?"

"In the early sixties, or late fifties, at the earliest." He admitted. The look on his face was so sheepish Lori could have burst out laughing. Watching Bella wrangle information out of the Police Chief was so much more interesting than the 'you cut your hair?' conversation. At Bella's dubious look he caught in the rearview mirror, he hurried to reassure her. "Really, they don't build them like that anymore. The truck runs great."

"How cheap is cheap?" Her tone was flat and Lori knew that she was trying to find out if there was a way she could reject the truck without being rude.

"..The thing is," He started hesitantly. "I already bought it. As a homecoming gift."

Lori saw Bella's expression and quickly cut in, well aware that she tended to unintentionally put her foot in her mouth more often than not, speaking before thinking it through. "That's nice of you, dad! Bella?"

The girl reluctantly agreed, unable to argue now, staring sullenly out of the window. "Yeah, thanks, I really appreciate it."

Charlie mumbled out something that sounded like 'you're welcome', a similar blush spreading on his cheeks faintly.

Lori snickered. One thing she was glad for, was that she seemed to have not inherited the famous – infamous? – telltale blush. She wanted to call him out on it, but she figured that if she did, the man would probably explode and then, they'd all end up in a car crash. It would be the first time she managed to cause an accident while not in the driver's seat.

"So, dad, how's Billy doing now?"

The man seemed happy to get a topic he was comfortable with, and the rest of the ride was filled with his low tone regaling them with the stories of his friends from the Rez.

* * *

The house the cruiser pulled up in front of was small and homely-looking. The wooden siding was painted white, and the two-story building was surrounded by greenery; trees and forest to the back, and bushes to both sides. Lori found that she already loved just the sight of it.

"Right, there're only two and a half bedrooms. I assumed you both would want a room to yourselves so I cleared out my study. One of you will have to settle for the smaller room. And there's only one bath so we'll have to share." Charlie explained to the two girls studying the house. "You two go ahead and choose. I'll bring the bags up."

"Thanks, dad." Lori grinned, before cackling as she ran into the house. "First come first serve, Bells!"

"Lori!" Bella cried, before following her twin, stumbling slightly on the driveway.

Smiling to himself as he popped open the trunk, Charlie was looking forward to living with his two daughters. Already, it was much livelier than it was before, filled with laughter courtesy of his younger daughter – he knew too well his older daughter was like him in having trouble expressing themselves – and warmth. He wouldn't have to come back to a cold and dark, empty house anymore.

Charlie paused, staring at the suitcase he had just pulled out. Was it him, or were the suitcases heavier than before? No, he shook his head, he was probably tired, that's all.

"Dad!" A shriek startled him and he flinched. Lori bounced up to him, looking like she was barely restraining from jumping on the spot, beaming from ear to ear. "I'll take the smaller room. I love it–it's wonderful–the view! Here, let me take that!"

The suitcase was snatched from his grip, and he could only watch, as she came and went like a hurricane with a giggle, swerving around his other daughter who was choosing to amble down the driveway at a normal pace.

"You'll get used to it." Bella remarked dryly as she grabbed her own bags, correctly pinpointing the reason for his stunned expression.

In the room she had claimed for herself upstairs, Lori stood, mouth gaping a little with awe. She walked around, climbing onto the bed and brushing her fingers reverently over everything to enjoy the texture of the wooden furniture.

It was a little small, but it was _beautiful_. As she had nearly screamed in her father's face before, the view from the window was marvelous. Opening out to the green forest, she knew it would be delightful to wake up to such a sight each morning. The walls were painted ivory in color, pastel blue curtains lightly billowing from the breeze, bringing the smell of nature and grass into the room like a natural air freshener, and the furniture – a bed, a small table, a bookshelf set into the wall beside the window to not take up floor space and a closet in a light oak color. There was even a small comfy-looking window seat beside the bookshelf already furnished with cushions to hug. She knew that was where she was going to spend most of her time.

It was small and there wasn't much space to walk around after all the necessary furniture had been placed inside unlike Bella's room but she loved it. It was wonderful.

Lori only hoped that she would grow to love her new school and the people in it as much as she did her new room.

* * *

 _A/N: I really shouldn't be starting this when I have other stories I just started too but I can't help it. Oh well._

 _Anyone want to guess what's Lori's secret? There's quite a few hints in this chapter! Hehe_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you to all my readers who favourited/followed this story even though only one chapter was up. And special thanks to_ _ **jansails**_ _and_ _ **jessa76**_ _for your reviews!_

 _Sorry for the wait, the woes of being a student with exams to mug for. Here's a long update to make up for it, hope y'all enjoy!_

 _Not edited so if there're any mistakes, feel free to let me know!_

* * *

 **-CHAPTER 2-**

" _Sometimes when you meet someone, you just click. I don't believe in love at first sight, but I sure believe in the click."_

* * *

Breakfast at the Swan residence, with the addition of two new female teenagers, was an awkward affair.

All things considered, it wasn't exactly surprising. Two of the most awkward people Lori knew were in one house together and shoved into a new situation.

Lori had woken up, to the beautiful green view outside her window. That helped her mood a little but first day jitters were already setting in. Worst case scenarios flashed through her head rapidly, many involving embarrassing situations caused either by Bella's clumsiness or by her own inability to keep her honest snark to herself.

Sorting out the order in which they used the only bathroom when they all coincidentally but somehow expectedly gathered in front of it at the same time was the first problem. There was a mess of 'you first' and 'no, you first' before Lori had finally pushed Charlie in, stating convincingly that if he didn't go in first, he'd have to wait ages for both her and Bella. Of course, Lori was the one that took the longest, being the only one that actually planned her outfits, styled her hair and used makeup.

Breakfast menu was the next. The two of them had hemmed and hawed in front of the kitchen counter for a while and Lori had been content to just watch on the sidelines. Bella offered to cook but couldn't due to the lack of groceries because the man had zero ability to cook and didn't have an inch of an idea of what to buy, the cabinets were bare of all else other than cereal and other instant food. Thus, there was only one item on the menu this morning.

And then, the most stumping problem of all was breakfast itself. Grumpy with the move and new, well, _everything_ , Bella was even more withdrawn than usual, mostly just mechanically spooning cereal into her mouth. Charlie was trying to play the father role by drawing the two sisters into conversation. The thing was, he didn't actually know what to talk about. The questions he asked were all shut down with one-word replies.

"More milk?"

"Thanks. Uh, I like this cereal. It's nice."

Lori dropped her spoon back into her bowl, giving up on trying to force another spoonful past her lips. If she had to listen to the two of them try to list the benefits of Frosted Flakes, her stomach might just decide to have a reflux issue. It was already churning from the flashbacks of her first school in Phoenix that always reappeared whenever school started and watching her family members struggle socially together always stressed her out with the duty to make things more smooth-flowing for them.

She was supposed to be the social butterfly after all, the one that drew friends to her like moths were attracted to lights. She was supposed to be the cheerful one, the one that always knew what to say to make things better. She was the good girl, that never caused trouble, that could do nothing wrong.

Sometimes, she really hated that.

But she still continued anyway.

"How's your work, dad?"

Finally, Charlie had to leave for work, wishing his daughters good luck for their first day as he left. It was no fault of his, but to Lori, it almost appeared like he was happy to be going to his man cave. Well, it was still only the first day of their cohabitation and him trying to be a father again. It was bound to be uncomfortable for a while more yet.

Lori and Bella shared a look, both knowing very clearly that no amount of well wishes were going to stop something from happening. Good luck tended to avoid Bella, or more like, be repelled by Bella. By association, Lori was more than often Bella's partner in suffering from unfortunate events. She would bet a hundred dollars that today would be unlike a normal first day.

It was still too early to go to school yet so both sisters sat at the table. Bella didn't start a conversation, seemingly wanting to preserve her quota of human interaction so she wouldn't burn out before school was out. Her gaze studied the décor of the kitchen. They hadn't gotten the time to properly see the rest of the house yesterday.

Lori noticed her sister's face pinch together, like she had smelled something gone bad.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Bella mumbled. "Just that everything's the same as before mum left."

Lori looked around the kitchen herself. Indeed, the wooden cabinets and the yellow and white color scheme that had been chosen by Renee had remained exactly the same. The pictures of their family of four as well as their wedding pictures hadn't been taken down either.

"It makes you uncomfortable." Lori stated knowingly, staring her down.

"Kind of. Whatever, let's just go."

Lori sighed, following Bella as she strode out of the house. Here was another inhabitant happy to be leaving the house.

Bella's reluctance to be in Forks with Charlie was something she knew very well. She wondered when Bella would stop feeling weird about how Charlie had never gotten over Renee. Maybe she felt pity for Charlie but he was an adult, unrequited love wouldn't break him down. Renee and Charlie just weren't meant to be. They didn't match. It had been clear to her even when they were younger. Renee was too much of a free spirit for Charlie, too much so that even the concept of 'opposites attract' wasn't enough for them to last long. Love wasn't the only thing required to make a relationship work.

It was drizzling, rain falling like fine mist and adding to the fog. Bella's expression soured even further, running to the truck to stop her hair from getting frizzy. God, if she was already this crabby before school started, Lori didn't want to know how she would make it through the day.

If you practice, and made a mistake, you would end up even more frazzled then if you didn't practice at all. So it would be best to take things as they came and then, improvise accordingly. It wasn't too good to overthink matters as Bella tended to do.

Lori believed in not worrying too much about things that she couldn't change. They were already in Forks for the long haul, until they graduated at least, and there was nothing any of them could do about it. It wasn't beneficial to anybody to keep being engrossed in what wasn't and what couldn't be. They just had to make the best out of it and try to enjoy the rest of their high school life.

First day of school was the first day of school, and she would deal with whatever happened when it happened. She hoped Bella would learn to have more confidence, and not worry excessively about other people.

 _I don't mind not fitting in. I just want to not be thought of as the freak. I just want people to not be afraid of me._

"Bells, don't be foul. You don't want people to think your face is permanently sulky."

Bella only gave her an all-suffering look as though saying she already had enough worries and to not add to it.

Lori raised her hands in the 'I surrender' gesture, choosing to sit quietly in the cab and stare out the window as the engine started up with a loud roar and Bella drove them to school. She decided that perhaps she should try to refrain from any sarcastic remarks regarding Bella or her sister might just collapse from stress. Honestly, the day had barely just started and she was already this high-strung.

Finding the school wasn't a problem though Bella nearly missed the turn if it wasn't for the huge 'Forks High School' sign.

The students, though, were a problem.

Bella had followed the mass traffic of students arriving, wanting to park where most students were parking. From inside the truck, they could both see the students milling about, pointing and staring at the new truck in their school parking lot. Lori thought it was a little pathetic. Couldn't they mind their own business? Was a new truck that fascinating? The truck didn't even look that nice; comparing to the other vehicles, it was around the same level. Because they were all staring, Lori knew Bella would be hesitant to even step out of the truck.

"Ignore them. They just don't have a life." Lori joked, pinching Bella's arm hard when there was no reaction from her.

"Hey!" She whined, but a smile grew on her face in response to Lori's cheeky smile. Bella knew that she was trying to make her more comfortable and the pinch did stop her from focusing on the ogling of the other students. That was what sisters did. Sometimes, she felt as though Lori was the only one who truly understood her.

"Let's go." Lori squeezed her sister's hand reassuringly, the pale shade of their skin blending together. "We're in this together. Us sisters against the world, yeah?"

With that, Bella felt courage rising up within her and she returned the hand squeeze, smiling back. "Yeah."

They had gotten out of the truck – Bella smacking the top of her head against the top of the cab – and walked to the building where they saw the sign pointing to the office, while staring straight ahead and ignoring all the whispers they could hear floating around. It was almost a miracle; there should have been a dent in Bella's skull, the number of times she had hit her head on their previous car's door. Seems like this tradition would be continuing here as well.

All in all, it was going pretty well. The office staff were friendly and welcoming, giving them their schedule and explaining the locations of their classes clearly. Apart from the slight incident where Lori saw the glint in the staff's eyes at their surname, she was sure that the gossip of 'Chief Swan's twin daughters are here!' would be spread soon enough. There was also this slip of paperwork that they needed to get their teachers from each period to sign.

Bella almost crumpled in on herself, trying to make herself smaller and not attract any more eyes to her as they walked down the hallway. It was pointless though, with Lori flouncing along, head confidently held high next to her. People's eyes were just drawn to Lori, inexplicably.

Next thing they knew, they were ambushed by a cheery voice from behind them, Lori flinching violently in shock.

"Isabella and Lorraine Swan, the new girls! Which one is which?"

"Uh, Bella. It's Bella, and she's Lori." Lori still had the deer-in-headlights look on her face, too shocked to form words.

"Sorry about that." He grinned apologetically at her. "Hi, I'm Eric."

Eric was just a tad taller than them and had the appearance of the stereotypical nerd that people would assume belonged in of one of those academically-inclined clubs, like the Chess Club or something. His shaggy hair was free of product, and long, nearly brushing his shoulders. The Asian boy followed them like an eager puppy, continuing his introduction. "I'm the eyes and ears of this place. Anything you need – tour guide, lunch date, shoulder to cry on? – you can come to me."

"Thanks!" Lori smiled brightly. "I'll make sure to go to you for everything, including my womanly troubles."

The guy seemed nice, decent, not like the standard jocks back at Phoenix, but he still creeped her out a little with his overeager and not subtle hitting on them. Besides, making a move on two girls – twins no less – at the same time? Not cool.

Bella's wide-eyed look was also amusing. It was really expressive; the message was unmistakable.

 _Why are you talking about that kind of things so openly in front of males?!_

"You know, I'm really more of the.. suffer-in-silence type."

He blanched, though he perked up at Bella's answer. Now, that was something he could work with.

"Good headline for your feature. I'm on the paper, and you girls are front page news, baby."

"What?" Bella stopped in her tracks. "No, no, I'm not. Please don't-"

"Alright, chillax! No feature." He smiled gently at Bella's panicky behavior.

"Okay, thanks." Her sense of relief was almost palpable.

"No for Lori too?"

"No for me too." Lori nodded sagely. "Sorry, Eric."

"S'alright. Where are you girls headed?"

"Government, with Jefferson. Building Six?" Lori passed him her schedule. She'd have to make sure to not lose it, or she'd get hopelessly lost. Not to say that she wouldn't, even with it in her hand. Lori's sense of direction was dreadfully atrocious; no matter how many times the office staff had repeated herself, it just didn't stick in Lori's mind. She couldn't even be left alone in a mall. Maps seemed to have something against her the way luck had something against Bella. That was part of the reason why she was such a terrible driver.

Bella huddled more into her jacket. She could've sworn that the people behind them were tagging closer than necessary in order to eavesdrop on them. Was that a breath on the back of her neck? A shiver ran down her spine.

Lori caught the slight tensing in Bella's frame and nudged her inconspicuously. "Relax!" She whispered.

"I'm going to Building Four. I could show you guys the way?" Eric offered, oblivious to the exchange that just took place.

Lori really hoped he was only interested in them because they were new, because she wasn't interested in him that way. She could tell Bella felt the same without even looking at her. He was friendly and nice, sure, but also a little persistent. She really just wanted him as a friend, when the charm of them being new wore off on him. Either way, she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth – he offered – and she definitely needed the help with directions.

They smiled at him tentatively before unintentionally chorusing together. "Sure, thanks."

"Oh wow, that's cool." Eric beamed, throwing his arms over their shoulders from his position in the middle and steering them in the direction of wherever they needed to go.

Lori cringed.

"So, where are you guys from? Is it much different from here?"

"Phoenix. And yes, it rains much less over there." Lori replied.

"Maybe three or four times a year." Bella added.

"Huh, I can't even imagine that. How's it like?"

"Sunny." Lori wasn't surprised at Bella's one-word answer. Say hello to the national conversation killer.

"The two of you aren't that tan though."

"Our mother's part albino." Bella deadpanned.

Eric frowned, studying their faces intensively and Lori wanted to face palm. Bella, she wanted to tell her, you can't use sarcasm like that or people won't know you're joking. And no, what's wrong here isn't that your senses of humor don't mix.

* * *

Lori hoped Bella wasn't coping too badly in her own class.

Government and the next few classes had been horrible. Both the teacher and the students had been gawking at them the whole time despite them having a seat at the back of the room. Lori had kept her face stoic, only smiling politely whenever she met someone's eyes but Bella had been flushed red and couldn't take her eyes off her table. It would be a miracle if any of the students had remembered anything of what Mr. Jefferson or any other of the teachers had been talking about. Lori didn't know either; the feeling of all the eyes burning into her had prevented her from absorbing even one word. At least, they had so far avoided being forced to give an introduction speech.

Sadly, the sisters had been separated for the period before gym class; Bella going to Trigonometry and Lori to English. By some rare stroke of luck, Lori managed to get to her class just by wandering along and hoping the turn she just took was the correct one.

The students were all gaping at her the moment she stepped in. It really did wonders for her ego. Mrs. Moore, however, a stern-looking older lady with streaks of grey through her tight bun, didn't ogle at all and simply nodded at her after signing the slip. She didn't look like the type to tolerate nonsense either and coupled with the fact that she didn't ask for an introductory speech, Mrs. Moore was instantly bumped up to near the top of Lori's list of her favourite people at this school.

There was one other person in the room that didn't look starstruck. Lori spotted her in an instant. That girl really stood out, in both looks and fashion. The contrast of her alarmingly pale skin along with her short jet-black hair in a pixie cut made her vivid amber eyes pop. The genuinely bright smile on her face. Also, the next thing that caught Lori's attention was her outfit. It wasn't something that she would wear, a rather quirky combination of goth and ruffles, but she couldn't deny that the girl pulled it off extremely well. Lori found herself admiring the way the girl wasn't content to be one of the masses.

On the way to the back of the room where Mrs. Moore had pointed Lori to – all the teachers had been directing her and Bella to seats in the back, probably in a bid to stop students from getting distracted though it clearly wasn't working – she passed by that girl's table.

Meeting her smile with one of her own, she told her what she thought of her. "I love your jacket, and your dress is awesome." Shooting her a wink – she didn't miss the widening of the girl's smile – Lori continued on to her seat. They didn't talk for the rest of the class; the book Mrs. Moore was talking about was actually interesting and Lori had fallen deep into the passion of which Mrs. Moore was talking with. Lori had always loved getting lost in the world of the books, but the other girl had flashed her another smile before leaving the classroom.

A pity that she left so quickly, Lori would have rather liked to try to be friends with her.

The next glass was one that she shared with Bella again, and it was also the bane of the sisters' lives. Gym.

Bella was infamously the clumsy and unathletic twin. Lori was only marginally better; she neither thrived nor suffered like Bella in physical activities, but it was leaning more towards the side of suffering. At least, Lori was spared the affliction of having two left feet and a total lack of hand-eye coordination. She was at least passable in gym class and didn't cause harm to unsuspecting students guilty only of being in the same room as them.

Just as she finished that thought, she saw her twin spike the volleyball into the back of a blonde boy's head. It was a reflex reaction when the ball was headed to her face. Lori winced. He wasn't even in the same court as them; he was playing basketball on the other side of the gym with the rest of the male students.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Bella hurried over, contrite. Her voice carried over to where Lori hung back, watching. For once, Bella had forgotten about all the eyes on her, caught up in her guilt. "I told them _not_ to let me play."

The boy's irritated expression melted off the moment he saw who the culprit was, turning into a smile at the sight of one of the new girls. "No, no! It's fine. Fine, everything's fine."

Lori supposed he could be considered cute. Short blonde hair meticulously spiked up, a baby smile and a nice smile. Not really her type, and not really Bella's either.

More importantly, when were people going to stop hitting on her and her sister? She'd already been propositioned a few times during classes. Just because they were new here didn't mean they instantly had a chance.

"I'm Mike, Mike Newton. You're.. Isabella?" He guessed, offering his hand to her.

"Bella, actually. How did you know?"

He gestured to her face, smiling sheepishly. "The brown eyes."

Right, as if that wasn't creepy at all. The gossip must have really spread in between classes for their different eye colours to be general knowledge amongst the student body.

Bella was just sliding her hand out of his grip when another blond jogged up to them, this time, a preppy girl that looked like she was a cheerleader.

"She's got a great spike, huh?" The blonde smiled at the both of them, but her attention was mostly on Mike. "I'm Jessica, by the way."

Lori wondered if she should go save her twin. Bella was looking more and more uncomfortable by the second. Even Bella wasn't socially oblivious to the extent to not notice that she was currently stuck in between what seemed to be an unrecruited crush. Jessica was trying but failing to be subtle in making sure that the pretty new girl wasn't alone with her man. The fake smile and laughs annoyed Lori immediately.

"Hey, you're from Arizona, right? Aren't they, supposed to be like, really tan over there?"

Lori wished Jessica would stop flicking her ponytail in that way as if it was supposed to be charming. And that question just brushed her in all the wrong ways. After Eric, many others had asked them the same question too. Was it a crime to _not be tan_ in Phoenix? The Swan genetics just made their skin unable to tan; they only got sunburned and went back to the same ivory shade after peeling off.

Perhaps it was lucky that Bella was the one that was there with them or something really rude would have come out of her mouth.

Though what Bella's response was just as bad in the awkward way. How was someone supposed to respond to that? Especially when it looked like she was just trying to play it off as not a big deal when it was actually the truth. It was lacking the utter I-don't-give-a-shit attitude to make it a sarcastic comeback.

"Yeah, maybe that's why they kicked me out."

Jessica's laugh when Mike snorted, pointing a finger teasingly at Bella, was just as cringe-worthy. "You're so funny. That's so funny."

Still, Lori was glad that Bella was surviving high school without needing any help from her.

"Save me." Bella hissed an urgent plea into her sister's ear when she walked back over to the girls' side of the gym, hooking their arms together like it was a safety shield.

Perhaps it was too early for that sort of conclusion.

Unfortunately for Bella, and Lori – because she didn't think she could survive another second in Jessica's presence – the two sisters were roped into joining Jessica and Mike's group of friends for lunch. It was more the case of queen bee trying to size up her opponents rather than a friendly offer, but Bella was too nice to reject the invitation.

Lori resigned herself to an uncomfortable lunch and the possibility of getting indigestion. So far, she still hadn't met anyone she liked other than that girl from English. Then again, there had been something weird about her. The people sitting around looked like they were drawn to her beauty and yet, also looked like they wanted to run away at the slightest opportunity. No one had spoken to her either.

The cafeteria was quite dreary-looking. The washed-out color scheme – dull blue pillars, grey floor – was made even more drab by the fluorescent lightings. The fog and rain further added to the gloom and doom atmosphere. If only it was sunnier, Lori would have wanted to eat outside. It felt like the longer she stayed in here, the more life was sucked out of her.

Mike led them to a table in the center of the cafeteria, already occupied with Eric and another dark-haired girl. He pulled out a chair for Bella and tried to do the same for Lori but she had already pulled out her own, unwilling to do anything to lead the guy on. If the guy was just being polite, Lori wouldn't have minded but she could tell the difference between manners and interest. Why were they all so eager to impress the both of them? What, did they think one of them could be the back-up plan if the other sister wasn't willing to become more than friends?

' _It's my pleasure, Madame._ ', Mike had said. Lori failed to suppress her shudder. He probably wanted to look suave, but it was more _greasy_ than charming.

"Hey, Mikey! You met my home girls? Nice to see you girls again." Eric grinned at them, breaking off his conversation with the other girl.

Lori met her eyes, and smiled, instantly liking her. There was a kind and down-to-earth feeling to her.

There was a brief banter between Mike and Eric, a really caveman-esque dispute referring to the Swan sisters as though they were possessions to be fought over and out of the blue, a dark-skinned boy popped his head in between Bella and Lori and planted a wet smooch on Bella's cheek. He threw a sorry-not-sorry over his shoulder at Mike as he ran away at the speed of light, figure already disappearing in the crowd of students.

Both sisters sat stunned as Mike burst out of his seat to chase after the boy, yelling all the while. "Tyler!"

Rage was boiling up in Lori. How dare they treat her sister – her socially awkward, and even more awkward with boys, unwilling sister – like that?! She wasn't a toy to be fought over and lay claim to! They probably went to that extent towards Bella since she looked like the type that couldn't say no; all fidgety and awkward. Their gut instinct probably told them that Lori wouldn't hesitate to give them a good sock if they tried that stuff on her.

Bella slowly brought her hand up to wipe at the spot, taking the tissue offered to her by her twin. She could still feel the imprint of his lips pressed to her skin. It didn't feel pleasant, that's for sure.

"It's like first grade all over again." Jessica broke the awkward silence at the table in the wake of Tyler and Mike. "You're the shiny new toys that they want to play with."

Lori never thought she'd find herself agreeing with Jessica. _Boys._

"Smile!"

Lori didn't have time to react at the order before she was blinking furiously, trying to get the spots out of her vision.

The other girl had attacked them with the bright flash from her camera. "Sorry, I needed a candid for the feature."

"The feature's dead, Angela. Don't bring it up again." Eric snapped, before directing a wink at the Swan twins. "I got your backs, baby."

Lori narrowed her eyes at Eric's unnecessarily rude and harsh remark as he left. The sudden photo attack wasn't exactly polite either, but there were other ways to go about saying that, especially when a hurt expression crossed Angela's face.

"Guess we'll just run another article on teen drinking.." Angela sighed forlornly.

"You know, you can always go for eating disorders." Bella offered with a slight chuckle. "Or speedo padding on the swim team."

Angela broke out into a sincere grin. "That's actually a good one."

"Proud of you, sister." Lori thumped Bella on the back, whispering to her. "Good job."

But Bella wasn't even looking at her, or the other two girls at the table anymore.

"Who are they?"

Lori quirked an eyebrow at the way both Jessica and Angela went silent for a moment. She craned her head to try to spot just who Bella was asking about. She never knew Bella to take an interest in somebody enough to ask. This was the first time.

"Stop that! They'll see!" Bella said sharply, already flushed from embarrassment and wishing belatedly that she never opened her mouth.

"Alright! But really, _who_?"

"They're the Cullens." Angela shrugged, discreetly pointing out the table at the far corner of the cafeteria to Lori.

Lori spotted the pixie-like girl from English sitting with three others, two males and one other female, at the table. The five of them were all different looking, obviously not blood-related, but still similar at the same time. They shared the same ivory skin, just a shade away from deathly pale, and they were all inhumanly beautiful like perfectly carved Adonis and Aphrodite statues. Despite doing nothing but sitting down, they exuded an aura of lethal gracefulness similar to that of prowling predators.

"They don't look related though.." Bella trailed off, confused.

"They're Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster children." Jessica leant forward, thrilled to share the gossip with the new kids. "They moved down here from Alaska a few years ago."

"Alaska? Wow, that's cold." Lori shivered at the thought. She couldn't imagine going to somewhere even colder and less sunny than Forks. She preferred cold to hot, but 24/7 snow and freezing was another matter altogether. Honestly, she was starting to regret wearing a dress – it matched the leather jacket and boots she wanted to wear today perfectly. Her legs were freezing despite the tights she was wearing. Also, from what she had seen the other students wearing throughout the day, mostly jeans and t-shirts like Bella, it looked like she was a little overdressed (apart from the Cullen girls).

"They usually keep to themselves." Angela added.

"Yeah, because they're together _together_." Jessica's voice was hushed and low as though she was imparting to them the dirtiest and most scandalous secret of all. She pointed out the girl from Lori's English class as Alice, and her boyfriend, a tall leanly muscled figure with blonde curls who had a rather pinched expression, as Jasper. The even taller black-haired male that was built like a tank and a little intimidating – she would probably look like a kitten next to his lion – was Emmett. The blonde girl to his right was Rosalie, Jasper Hale's blood sister and Aphrodite incarnate.

"They're not blood-related. They can be romantically involved if they want to." Lori said pointedly, nudging Bella hard when she looked like she was about to agree that it was weird. Bella couldn't deny that this type of news, illegal or not, would definitely cause gossip even in Phoenix too.

"Exactly. It's not illegal." Angela gave Jessica a dry look. This was apparently not the first time they've had this debate.

"Yeah, but still, they live together." Jessica frowned at them. Angela's comment was expected but she was taken aback at Lori defending someone she didn't even know. To her, it was strange and against the social norm for adopted siblings to be involved together, let alone live in the same house.

Bella coughed, directing the attention back to her to diffuse the tension between the two. Lori was probably the only person for whom Bella would be willing to brave the attention. "That's really nice of them, to take care of so many kids."

"I guess so." Jessica admitted, like it was killing her to say something nice about the Cullen matriarch. "I think Mrs. Cullen can't have any children though. And Alice, she's _really_ weird-"

"That's rude." Lori had enough of the jealousy the girl was emitting, smacking a hand down onto the table. It was downright mean and childish to let her jealousy affect the way she treated them. Even Bella was frowning now. "What has that got to do with anything?"

"What?" She laughed. "Look at her, I'm just saying it like it is."

"Look at _you_. You're a shallow bitch." Lori smirked at Jessica's dropped jaw. "Oh, don't be offended. _I'm just saying it like it is_."

Jessica spluttered, unable to reply, and Angela's expression was an amusing blend of impressed yet horrified.

At that moment, another one of the Cullens, Lori assumed due to the same features he shared with the other four entered the cafeteria, heading straight to the Cullens' table. Strangely, he had a smirk on his face like he was remembering a joke someone had told him though no one was near him.

"Who's he?" Bella asked, looking like she had been struck. Her starry-eyed gaze followed his figure across the cafeteria. He had bronze hair and a lean build, smaller than both Jasper and Emmett though no less attractive.

His head darted up, as though someone had called his name, and his eyes landed on Bella for longer than just a passing glance.

"That's Edward Cullen. He's gorgeous but apparently, no one here is good enough for him. Like I care, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Lori snorted at her bitter tone. "How many times did he turn you down again?"

"You-That's enough." Jessica snarled, looking like she was an inch away from lunging over the table to grab Lori's hair. She huffed, flinging her hair away from her face, before facing Bella. "Seriously, don't waste your time. He doesn't date."

"Wasn't planning on it." Bella managed a weak smile and a shrug. It was clear to Lori that her heart wasn't in that statement and it was proved when she caught Bella sneaking a glance over to the Cullens' table.

Curious as to why Bella had flushed and suddenly started being enraptured in her food – it was just a standard salad, sandwich and juice box, Lori looked over to that table herself. Edward Cullen was staring at Bella too. Instead of goggling like the other boys did, the glint in his eyes were more intrigued and also, a tad frustrated. His expression was kind of like the one she would have when she got stuck halfway through solving a trigonometry problem.

Just like that, Lori knew she would be more than acceptable with him ending up together with her sister. She leaned closer to Bella, whispering into her ear. "He's staring at you."

"No, he's not." Her reply came too fast, and Bella knew she was busted. She felt her face burn even more than before.

"You _like_ him!" Lori whisper-shouted excitedly, Bella's interest much more interesting to her than the Cullens were. Bella winced; Lori was clapping her on the back a little too strongly but at least, her younger twin had the sense to not expose her. "This is great! It's your first crush! This is the pinnacle of high school life!"

Bella snuck another look over. He had turned away, but she had the distinct impression that he was smiling.

"Okay, I'll be your wingman-woman-I'll be your wingwoman."

"What?!" Bella's head whipped back around so fast she nearly pulled a muscle in her neck. "No!"

Lori was already half out of her chair. Angela and Jessica both stared at her like she had suddenly grown an extra head. Bella yanked hard on Lori's arm, sending her back into her seat with a thump.

"I'm just going to say 'hi'!" Lori laughed, looking entirely too gleeful for Bella's taste. "No worries, I won't out your crush."

"No!" Bella hissed. "Stop it. Seriously!"

Lori laughed but decided not to push her sister any further. She hadn't really been intending on making her way over in the first place, only wanting to tease Bella. Though it would have been fine even if Bella hadn't stopped her. Alice seemed nice, friendly, and the thought of asking her where she got the inspiration for her clothes was tempting. Maybe she would ask her in tomorrow's English class.

The rest of the lunch period passed without much incident, aside from the minor spats Jessica and Lori couldn't stop getting into. Bella stopped glancing at the Cullens, and Lori more or less forgot everything except that the bronze-haired brother had caught her sister's interest.

* * *

Lori stood in front at her locker after her last class, waiting for Bella.

Before going to their separate classes when lunch ended, the sisters had made plans to meet up at Lori's locker before going to the office together to turn in their signed slips.

Bella was running a little late. She went on her tiptoes to see if Bella was reaching but saw no hint of her brunette twin among the crowd milling about the hallway.

Deciding to take the chance to organize the insides of her locker, she had only just turned around to face her locker when she was suddenly sent careening forward. Someone had roughly bumped into her from behind. She could've sworn she had heard a giggle. Surely, it wasn't something as mundane as hazing the new girl?

With a loud thud, she face-planted into her locker hard.

Luckily, her reflexes had kicked in, adjusting her angle so she didn't end up breaking her nose. The only part that had come into contact with the hard metal of the locker was her forehead.

Lori whimpered. That had _hurt_. She didn't know when, but she had somehow slid down to her knees, one hand cradling the throbbing spot on her face and the other on the locker for support. Her head was reeling too much from the sudden impact to stand.

"Woah, hey, are you alright?" A deep velvety voice sounded from behind her. A pair of hands, firm yet gentle, clasped around her upper arms and pulled her back upright. Turning her around to face him, he only let go of her after making sure that she could stand by herself.

Raising her head up, and it was _a lot_ up – Lori thought she might have gotten a crick in her neck – past the broad chest and shoulders, and thick muscular neck, she found herself staring into a pair of amber eyes.

The male standing in front of her was one of the Cullens. She had thought that he was intimidating because of his stature, but those were one of the warmest pair of eyes she had ever seen. She wouldn't mind being friends with him either. Lori was really embarrassed to say, especially after he had helped her, but she had totally forgotten his name.

"Are you alright?" He repeated, now genuinely looking worried.

"I'm fine, thanks uh-I forgot your name. Sorry." She sheepishly chuckled. A slight flush spread over her cheeks, clashing with the red spot on her forehead, as she realised that the statement could potentially be taken as stalker-ish.

He quirked an amused eyebrow at her. "I think I'd know if I've met someone like you before."

"Well, you're right. You haven't." She drawled, before gesturing for him to come closer to her, acting like she wanted to tell him a secret.

Emmett would have thought it was a flirtation technique, but the twinkle in her eyes was purely sincerity. There was none of the ulterior motives or poorly hidden lust the other girls tended to have when they were brave enough to approach him.

Intrigued, he bent down, humoring her.

"I'm a unicorn, mister." She made a show of whispering in his ear, hand coming up to block the view of her lips.

He let out a booming laugh, causing the other students to gawk. It was rare enough for one of the Cullens to interact with someone else outside of class when necessary, let alone laughing together with someone in the hallway. Little did she know, that would be the start of her feud with Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory.

Eventually, his laugh died down to a grin but mirth still shone in his eyes. "I'm Emmett."

"Lori." She bumped her fist with his outstretched one. His hand was cold and hard, like he had been freezing all day.

"So, it's only your first day and you're already stalking me?" Emmett smirked in the arrogant way that only a handsome man who knew he was handsome could.

"Please." She waved her hand dismissively in his face – Emmett was almost offended – and leant back against her locker. "The girls I was sitting with at lunch felt it was necessary to dish out all the juicy gossip to the new kids, and you and your family are all the craze around here."

"You're not interested?" There was a tense seriousness beneath his light tone, Lori noticed.

"Yes and no." She shrugged. "Everyone has their own weird quirk and well, it's not really any of my business, is it?"

Something dark flickered across her face but no one saw it.

* * *

 _A/N: Yay, she met Emmett! And no hints for Lori's secret in this chapter. Thank you for your guesses, but they weren't it! ;) Now, I'm kind of hoping that you guys won't be disappointed by what it is when it's revealed though_

 _Fyi, Emmett and Rosalie only have a platonic familial relationship._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Here's your update! Thank you all readers, your support means the world to me! Sorry that the updating schedule is not consistent; my writing speed depends on my mood and it's really fluctuating lately but I don't want to compromise on quality just because I'm trying to rush it out. Hopefully, I can maintain a rate of one chapter every one-to-two-weeks!_

 _ **edaygin**_ _: Thank you for being SHOOOK HAHAH Upload is now :)_

 _ **jessa76**_ _: Uhm, the unicorn thing is a joke lol Lori's definitely not a magical beast. Thank you for reviewing each chapter!_

 _ **BatmanForPresident**_ _: I love your name btw, Christian Bale? Or Ben Affleck? HAHA Thank you for your review! Stay on the edge a little longer, I'm not giving away the secret just yet ;) Thank you for reading my other stories too!_

 _ **Jansails**_ _: Thank you for your praise and kind words, and for reviewing on each chapter! Mean Girls Society HAHA I'm dying Do you mind if I use that term in my following chapters?_

 _Thanks to all those who followed/favourited too!_

* * *

 **-CHAPTER 3-**

 _"I must hide because I'm ugly_

 _I'm afraid_

 _So pathetic_

 _I'm so afraid_

 _In the end, will you leave me too?_

 _So I'm putting on a mask to go see you"_

– _BTS "The Truth Untold"_

* * *

Lori frowned.

There was a really weird expression on Bella's face. It was somewhat a cross between confusion and annoyance, though it melted off the moment her eyes were drawn to the bright red spot smack in the center of Lori's forehead.

"Um, what's that?"

"Emmett. He's a year older and my new bodyguard for today. Emmett, Bells. Bells, Emmett."

He grinned, waving in greeting at her. "Hey."

Bella wasn't actually asking about him though she was a little curious. Why did Lori think she was talking about him when she used the word 'that' anyway? The guy wasn't some kind of inanimate object. He was a human to be referred to as 'who', not 'that'.

Not wanting to be rude now that Lori had introduced them, she uncomfortably raised a hand in return.

"Bodyguard?" She asked apprehensively. Bella had spotted him long before seeing Lori – his head popped out above the rest of the crowd – though she hadn't known that he would be next to her younger twin. The hulking male towered over both of them. He was more than a head taller; Lori's head reached his chin but she was wearing near three-inch heeled boots. What did one eat to grow so tall? She didn't think she'd ever seen someone taller than Emmett was in all her seventeen years.

"I already asked him. Beef steak, he said." Lori whispered to Bella, correctly interpreting her expression in the seemingly telepathic way twins had.

Bella flushed, glancing at Emmett. Lori's volume was nowhere near low enough to be a whisper. Judging by his amused grin, pearly whites flashing, Emmett had heard Lori clearly. She coughed awkwardly. "Why do you need a bodyguard?"

"She hit her head on her locker door." Emmett graciously explained why Lori came across a little more loopy than usual when she didn't continue beyond gesturing to the bruise on her forehead. Bella winced at the sight. It wasn't bleeding but it was already turning an ugly mottled purple.

"What?" Bella asked dubiously. "But you're not the clumsy twin."

Lori only hummed vaguely in response. She wasn't keen on letting her sister know just what had happened yet. Unlike her frail exterior, Bella could be quite a hothead at times. She had an extremely protective streak for her family and loved ones much like a lioness fiercely defending her cubs. Lori didn't want her older twin rushing into a situation she couldn't handle. She tended to lose sight of the important things like consequences and consideration when she was on a warpath.

Besides, she wasn't fully certain that she had been pushed purposefully by someone.

Lori didn't want to make assumptions based on a hunch. She had to go about this carefully. If something like _before_ happened to Bella..

"Do you need to see the nurse?" Bella's question drew her out of her thoughts. She was still staring at the ugly swelling bruise.

Lori immediately shoved those dark thoughts back into the cage deep down in her mind, plastering a smile on her face. "Nope! It's just a bruise, nothing serious. It's not even bleeding. C'mon, let's go." She waved a dismissive hand, leading the way to the office in her heeled boots. Boy did she love these boots; they were like an instant confidence booster.

Emmett and Bella trailed after her like obedient ducklings following their mother.

"Oh, it's one of your brothers." Lori came to a halt at the sight of the male leaning against the front desk, being the first one to step into the office. Bella caught a glimpse of bronze tousled hair over Lori's shoulders and was sorely tempted to just turn around and leave, the slip be damned.

Edward was in the middle of what seemed to be a heated discussion with the office lady. He was so engrossed he didn't notice the three of them had entered the office. Though their volume was kept low, it was enough for the trio at the doorway to overhear. He was trying really hard to switch his Biology class to something else – _anything_ else.

A burst of cold wind blew in as the door opened again behind them, ruffling their hair and clothes. A girl walked in, placed a stack of papers in the basket on the desk and then hurried back out, sensing the strained atmosphere. Edward turned, finally aware of their presence, and stared daggers at Bella, looking like she had been accused of being the culprit of ruining his life. As though he wanted nothing more than for her to disappear from his sight right there and then.

He had barely looked at Lori and his brother, gaze unerringly trained on Bella. His entire stance was tensed and poised to strike.

Bella stiffened, hands clenching. The annoyance from earlier was starting to turn into anger. Just what did she do to be treated like she was a plague-ridden rat on her first day of school? It was really unfair. She'd never even heard of him before lunch hour! There was no chance for her to have offended him in any way.

For the life of her, Bella couldn't think of any possible reason for Edward's behaviour.

The same anger was rising in Lori. She glared back at him with the same intensity. It was clear to her that this brother had a problem with her sister that started from Biology. Of all classes, it had to be the one in which she wasn't there with Bella. What was this animosity towards Bella?

"Edward." Emmett's voice was low, full of warning. His posture had shifted too, into one that was ready to jump into action at the slightest hint of a threat, in response to the slightly unhinged look in Edward's eyes.

At the sound of his brother's voice, Edward's gaze flicked towards Emmett, barely acknowledging his presence, before he was out of the office in a flash. Lori was surprised that he managed to mutter a quick thank you and apology to the office lady before leaving. Those manners were contrasting to the vicious glare he had been giving Bella.

"Sorry, I don't know what's gotten into him. He's usually not like this." Emmett was visibly worried, and Lori found that slightly unnerving. From what she had seen of him, it was evident that Emmett was the type to be naturally cheerful. Emmett's frown only meant that the way his younger brother had behaved was truly unusual. With a pat on Lori's head and another apologetic smile to Bella, Emmett quickly went after his brother.

Bella deflated the moment the Cullen was out the door. She was more tired than angry now. Lori's arm around her shoulder was some comfort but she just wanted to go home – even though it wasn't really _home_ yet – and not think about all this anymore. Some rest was also in order for her to face him again in Biology tomorrow.

She wanted to forget this ever happened.

Bella's posture was even more slumped than usual, head down and hunching in on herself as they left the office, heading to the truck. It was clear to all who looked that she was troubled.

Lori snuck a worried glance out the corner of her eye at her. It really wasn't common for Bella to have someone that was so vehemently hateful towards her. It was usually Lori that had to deal with bullies that were offended by her filter-less mouth. For once, Lori found herself at a loss of words, unsure how to comfort her sister. She could try the 'He's a jackass, just ignore him' line but it didn't seem like it would work. Bella was too down in the dumps for anything to get through to her.

Lori just hoped she wouldn't think that something was wrong with herself. It was an ugly truth that sometimes, people just didn't like you, no matter what you did or didn't do, and there's no choice other than to accept it and move on.

The next day was marginally better.

Lori got to become close with Alice Cullen, the girl in her English class. Their personalities had clicked well and conversation flowed with ease. Mrs. Moore's had kept stern eyes on her students throughout class so they were unable to continue the conversation involving much squeals about their respective fashion styles and favourite brands during the five to ten minutes before class, but they had exchanged secretive smiles with each other and pulled funny faces to try to make the other laugh every time Mrs Moore's attention was elsewhere. By the time class was over, the girls were interacting as though they had known each other for years.

During lunch period, where Lori found herself sitting at the same table as yesterday again, she could have ripped her ears off. Angela and Eric were fine, in fact, they were growing on her. Mike was alright too, now that he had focused his efforts on Bella alone. Lori couldn't figure out whether he was supposed to be a bodyguard as he said he was – since he was one of the witnesses to the Bella-Edward fiasco yesterday – but he kind of just looked like a lovesick puppy. The problem was the other addition to the table.

Lauren Mallory.

Blonde hair, green eyes. She was pretty in the typical cheerleader manner with long legs and a killer physique. Apparently, it was her dream to become a model.

Lauren and Jessica had launched a gossip session straight away and some of it was downright nasty. It was really none of their business yet they were exaggerating and judging, basically trash-talking based on rumours. It was making her ears bleed. The two of them were just about the bane of her high school life.

The upside was that Edward Cullen wasn't in school. There were only four at the Cullen's table.

Lori would've gone over to their table to escape - Emmett and Alice had both flashed her a smile when they strolled in - if it wasn't for the Aphrodite blonde giving her death glares. The other blonde, Jasper, didn't seem to care much about her blossoming friendship with his two siblings. Either way, she couldn't throw Bella to the sharks. The news of Edward's behaviour had circled the school surprisingly fast and everyone was curiously staring at Bella. The two gossipmongers were alternating between shooting snide jealous looks and hungrily eyeing Bella, waiting for their chance to pounce. Lori was the only barrier protecting Bella at the moment.

"Bells, chin up! Edstúpido-" If Lori was going to suffer through Spanish class, she'd damn well make use of it.

A loud burst of laughter carried over the chatter and clatter of the cafeteria, distinctly recognizable as Emmett's. Lori quirked an eyebrow over at the Cullen's table, curious why they were so loud and upbeat today – the mood of their table was usually gloom and doom apart from Emmett and Alice, but even then, the two never tried to draw attention – but Emmett was too busy choking on his laughter to see. Even Rosalie and Jasper had a little smirk on their lips.

"Don't call him that!" Bella balked at the vulgar term Lori used, furrowing her brows disapprovingly. "Spanish class isn't meant for you to learn how to insult people!"

Lori rolled her eyes. " _He's_ not here today, so stop acting like you're being stalked." She gave Bella a nudge, signalling her to stop pushing her food around the plate and eat. She had noticed that her older twin had been in a state of nerves ever since morning. Bella was probably dreading seeing Edward again to the point that she went around everywhere on tenterhooks like he would pop out of nowhere and start heckling her.

"What if he comes later for Biology?"

"If he apologizes, then all's well that ends well. But if he's rude again, then give it to him as good as you get." Lori fixed her with a stern look. "Don't back down, Bella. You didn't do anything wrong."

However, Lori's words didn't have much of an effect on her. Each time Lori saw her, whether in class or at the corridors in between classes, Bella looked more and more tense as the day went by. It was obvious that she was fretting herself to death, thinking about all the 'what if's and 'why's. Lori almost hoped the guy would just turn up and be rude again so Bella could give him a piece of her mind and stop being in a perpetual state of anxiety. She was worried the crease in her sister's forehead would become permanent if this continued; it was already so deep.

At the end of the day, Lori once again saw Emmett Cullen. This time, though, he was leant against her locker waiting for her.

A lazy grin slowly spread across his face at the sight of her. "Thought it'd be better waiting here for you then try to find you because you'd probably be impossible to find in the crowd."

"Good choice." She nodded sagely. "You could be a lighthouse; white and tall. What's up?"

"Bodyguard duty, munchkin. Walk you to that disaster you call a truck?"

"That disaster _is_ a truck. Factually and technically and everything else. I'm not just calling it one." She raised an incredulous eyebrow at him, muttering under her breath. "Boys and their toys."

"Heard that." His grin widened, amber eyes bright with mirth. He tapped her on the nose causing her to scrunch it up.

"You were supposed to." She stuck out her tongue at him, squealing when he made a grab for it. "Anyway, I have to wait for Bella.."

"Sure." Emmett agreed easily.

Lori eyed him thoughtfully. "Speaking of Bella, what's the deal with your brother and her? Where's he? Is he coming back?"

He looked a little stunned at the sudden firing of questions but recovered quickly, a defensive gleam in his eyes. "Edward's going through a rough time now. He's really not usually that rude."

"Is he avoiding school because of Bella? Is he coming back? When?" Lori's tone was now cool, eyes narrowing. "He can't just treat my sister like that and then disappear."

"We had family issues. Edward went to visit our relatives in Alaska." Emmett's expression grew hard as well.

"Awfully convenient."

"What are you implying?" It was a question, but his tone was so flat it sounded like a statement.

"Nothing." Lori stared at him unflinchingly, showing that she meant business. "He just better come back to apologize or I'll make him regret it."

"You?" Emmett barked out a harsh laugh, so different from the ones she had heard before. "No offense, but you're about as threatening as a chihuahua in front of a lion."

The walk to the truck was tense and silent. Emmett gave them a curt nod as a goodbye when they reached the truck but Lori didn't even look at him. Bella was extremely puzzled over the icy mood Lori had towards Emmett when they were all buddy yesterday but Lori didn't offer any explanation. She was utterly fuming and Bella wisely chose to not ask any further.

The next day, there was yet again no sign of Edward Cullen at the Cullen's table during lunch. Bella's eye bags had only darkened, obviously not having gotten any sleep and the gossip circulating around about the two of them had only gotten worse. Lori herself was now also involved in the gossip; everyone speculating about the relationship she had with Emmett as their interactions in front of her locker wasn't exactly secretive. Lauren had gone overboard, spilling the nastier and derogatory remarks about Lori, and Lori had just snapped, lashing out at her with venomous words before storming away. She was already on edge with the Edward-Bella issue, and with the Emmett troubles yesterday, Lauren's attitude didn't help at all.

Alice had still been friendly to her during English class before lunch and it had _killed_ Lori to not respond to her. She felt even worse when Alice only gave her an understanding smile tinged with sadness. Lori was forgoing all interaction with the Cullen-Hale family until Edward-Bella fiasco was sorted out. That, and she didn't feel like talking to any of them after Emmett had defended Edward yesterday when Edward was obviously in the wrong. No matter what, he didn't have to treat Bella that way.

"Lori, look, I just want to apologize." Emmett came up to her again when she was stuffing the unneeded books back in her locker at the end of the day. It was quick becoming _their_ unofficial spot.

"Are you ignoring me?" He asked when she didn't acknowledge him. Emmett sighed, exasperated. "Lori."

"I'm not happy with you right now." Lori determinedly kept her gaze on her books, not looking to the side where Emmett was leaning against the locker next to hers. She couldn't look at him, because if she did, she'd cave and her stubborn pride wouldn't allow that. Bella, her sister, had been snubbed, and Emmett was defending and hiding the one who snubbed. It wasn't fair of her to be angry at Emmett for protecting his brother, she knew, but she wouldn't concede on this.

"Alice was miserable."

Lori flinched at the rather effective guilt trip. "It's not logical, I know, sorry. But that's how it is." She shrugged. "It's like boycotting brands, and I'm boycotting your family."

With that, Lori walked away, leaving him staring after her disappearing figure.

For the rest of the week, Bella and Lori met up at the truck instead.

For the rest of the week, there was no appearance of Edward Cullen, unfortunately for the mental state of the Swan sisters – and Alice and Emmett Cullen because Lori still wasn't speaking to either of them.

It was like that prank where people think they're going to get pranked and so, stay on guard all the while and stressed themselves out by being jumpy but in the end, no prank ever came.

Finally, on Friday, despite becoming more comfortable with the new environment of Forks High, Bella's nerves were a mess from always keeping an eye out for any sign of Edward. Though Lori herself wasn't doing too well, drained from avoiding Alice and Emmett, Bella was doing much more horribly. Looking at her bloodshot eyes, Lori didn't know whether to laugh at her or pity her. She could only offer her sister a sympathetic smile, something that carried the message of 'keep your spirits up!'.

* * *

Their first full weekend in Forks was a snowy one.

Saturday morning brought about a snowstorm, keeping the Swans holed up in their house with the heaters on to the maximum for the day. It was mostly for the sisters though, Charlie was very much used to low temperatures. He always looked like he was holding in a laugh whenever one of the twins trudged by him looking like burritos, as wrapped up in their blankets as they were. Even Lori who liked the cold more than Bella was loath to go anywhere without the warmth of her blankets.

The Swans also had their first proper family meal together. Breakfast was always hurried, and most of the time they all ate at different times depending on their morning routine. Lunch was at school and at work. Charlie had always been too busy working to come home for dinner even if he wanted to, so the girls had taken to leaving portions for him to heat up when he was back.

Wanting to show their appreciation for him, the sisters had bought groceries after school on Friday to surprise him with a homecooked dinner. Charlie was quite the workaholic, intending on going to work even on the weekend so they were unable to prepare lunch, but Lori suspected he was unused to spending time at home and wanted to avoid interacting with teenagers for an extended period of time because he didn't know what to do.

Hopefully, this dinner would ease the feeling of being out-of-my-comfort-zone a little.

They had to reluctantly abandon their blankets in order to cook but at least the stove fires raised the temperature in the kitchen more that they didn't really need extra clothing to stay warm.

Lori was in charge of dessert – apple cobbler. It was a recipe passed down from Charlie's mother to Renee and then, to Lori. She hoped Charlie would like it. Bella still looked uncomfortable at the idea of reminding Charlie of his ex-wife, but Lori argued that it was originally from their grandmother so the main point wasn't Renee.

Meanwhile, Bella was in charge of the main course – steak and potatoes. The potatoes were skinned and wrapped in foil to bake in the oven while the steak was marinated for broiling later. Easy yet delicious.

The two of them were rummaging around in the cabinets, looking for the baking dish when it happened. In hind sight, Lori should have kept a better eye on Bella. With the two of them bustling about in the kitchen, and Bella's strong affinity for unluckiness and clumsiness, it was bound to happen.

Bella had dragged over a stool to peer into the upper cabinets. It was obvious this area was hardly touched by Charlie; the various kitchen tools and crockeries were all haphazardly stuffed in. Bella wasn't nearly tall enough to fully look in the higher cabinets even with the stool she was stood on and thus, didn't see the kitchen knife balanced precariously on top of one of the pots she was shifting. It tipped over, sliding out of the protective packaging as it fell pointed edge first.

Bella instinctively shut her eyes, cringing at the sight of the glinting edge of the knife falling out of the cabinet.

"Bella!" A panicked scream from Lori.

There was a loud thunk.

But Bella felt no pain. Running her eyes down her front, scanning for any signs of injury, she froze when her eyes landed on her feet.

Bella let out a shaky breath. She couldn't believe just how close she had come to being seriously injured. Her luck really had taken a turn for the worse after coming to Forks. She could've sworn the knife was headed straight for her face, but it was now stuck vertically in the wooden stool in between her feet, still slightly vibrating from the impact.

Dazedly, she slowly stepped down from the stool. Turning to the side, she met Lori's gaze. Lori's eyes were wide in terror, face sickeningly pale. Her hand was still outstretched in the air, as though she had been reaching for Bella, but she quickly snatched it back the moment Bella turned to her.

Even though Lori always looked like nothing could faze her and went about with an unshakeable confidence, Bella had always been the one that could brush off the life-threatening situations the twins somehow always found themselves in with no trouble. She was alive and that was all that mattered. If Bella was going to panic and dwell over every incident that landed her in the hospital, she'd have a heart attack faster than her clumsiness could send her back there again. She supposed Lori was the more fragile one in this case.

"Lori! I'm fine." Bella smiled, wanting to wipe off that terrified expression on Lori's face. "Lucky it missed me so, no need for a trip to the hospital."

" _Lucky_.." Lori breathed out. She forced a smirk out, acting like she wasn't bothered anymore but the tremble in her hands said otherwise. "Yeah, lets not make another hospital your second home. Maybe your unlucky streak's taken a leave of absence."

Bella chuckled. "It's not like I pay it to stay. Don't talk about unpaid leave, I'd actually pay it to _leave_."

They continued on preparing for dinner without any more hiccups, finishing just in time before Charlie arrived.

"Hey, dad." Bella greeted him, Lori chiming in after, as he hung up his gun holster belt and took off his shoes.

"Hey, what's for dinner?" Charlie hesitantly asked, smelling the aroma in the air. His body language practically screamed 'wary' at them.

The two sisters shared an eye roll when his gaze moved away from them. Charlie needed to remember that the girls were much better cooks than their mother, who had a fondness for experimenting with her imaginative ideas. Those meals always turned out worse than they appeared to be. That was one of the things about Renee that still hadn't changed. Phil was now the sole victim of her latest experiments.

"Perfectly normal steak and potatoes plus apple cobbler for dessert." Lori grinned and Bella had to stifle a chuckle at Charlie's relieved expression.

"Thanks for the dinner. It uh, smells good." Charlie praised when they were all seated, but he didn't pick up his fork and knife. "I know I haven't been around lately, but it's been great having you girls here. It feels like _home_ again."

He had talked haltingly, like he was thoroughly considering every word before it came out of his mouth. As though he was afraid that what came out in words may not be what he intended it to be in his mind, as though he was afraid of making a mistake.

"Thanks, dad." Lori smiled warmly, a little teary-eyed already. Bella simply nodded in agreement, surprised and sad at the same time. She still didn't know if this house felt like _home_ to her yet and it made her a little guilty.

Charlie ended the emotional exchange with a gruff nod and an awkward cough. "Let's eat."

That was the first time either of the two girls had seen him express his feelings in such a way. He usually avoided all topics about feelings and emotions especially when it came to them; Billy Black was one of the few exceptions. It only reaffirmed the fact to them, that though he was gruff and not a man of many words, Charlie truly did love his daughters.

It also helped that he tried to get to know his teenage daughters more beyond ' _they are my teenage twin daughters_ ' by asking questions about their school life and how they were adjusting, though they were admittedly commonly used questions. Dinner became a much less stilted and uncomfortable affair as compared to their first breakfast.

Sunday morning, however, was a nightmare for Lori.

She had woken up with a particularly bad cold. Her nose refused to stop running – it was almost a leaky tap. Eventually, the common cold turned into the full package of runny nose, cough, sore throat and fever. Lori felt positively awful but there was no one to blame for her blunder; she had left the window open a crack to feel the refreshing wind on her face while reading on the window seat and had accidentally fallen asleep there, suffering the icy chill for the whole night.

Bella had been dashing back and forth, fussing over every little detail in taking care of Lori. Charlie had offered to send Lori to the hospital if she needed on his way to work – the man had exceeded his parent-child interaction quota for the weekend due to the dinner last night – but Lori had declined it. There was no need for a trip to the hospital – God knows she had seen enough of it for a lifetime because of Bella's clumsy mishaps – and this was actually quite common for her. Despite liking the cold more than hot weather, Lori had always gotten sick easily. Eating a rich chocolate brownie would effortlessly give her a sore throat.

Lying on her bed wrapped up in even more blankets than the day before courtesy of Bella, Lori cast a peeved glare at the window seat. She cursed the comfortable cushions there. If they weren't all squishy and cushy, she wouldn't have fallen asleep there!

"Lori, the tissue box's-" Bella froze in the doorway, giving her a withering look. "Did you get out of bed?"

"What?" Lori's eyes widened innocently, but Bella spotted the slight apprehension in her posture. She heaved a sigh, wondering if she was really that scary.

"Did the tissue box just walk over by itself or something?" Bella deadpanned. The way the Lori's apprehension intensified at her words escaped her notice as she continued grumbling. "I remembered the tissue box was out of your reach so I came up and now, it's magically sitting at your bedside when you're not supposed to leave the bed."

"Sorry." The edges of Lori's sheepish smile faltered.

On Monday morning, Lori was still bedridden by Bella's orders due to her un-receding temperature. Bella had cooked her lunch to heat up later and had forbidden her to even try to leave the house.

Lori wondered fleetingly if Edward was going to school today and if Bella could handle it if he did. She knew Bella was still concerned about what he thought of her and why he had been so vehemently hostile.

But there was nothing she could do about it now. If anything happened, she'd wring the details out of Bella and then she and Edward would have a talk. A talk where she'd make sure to let Edward know just what she thought of his behaviour. Chihuahua or lion didn't matter! Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. She'd just have to wait for when Bella came home.

In the meantime, she'd have to find something else to occupy her time or she would die of boredom before she could get that opportunity.

Television or books or maybe Tiffany would be up for a call, Lori could probably convince her to do a video call during their lunch period. They had been staying in touch via emails but calls were another thing. Tiffany would likely die of jealousy if she heard about the Cullens. Lori decided to try to sneak a picture of the Cullens if they ever made up when Edward came back to Forks and made amends with Bella.

* * *

"Lori! Lori, are you there?" Bella hurried up the steps to her sister's room, nearly breaking her nose as she tripped in her haste. She was absolutely bursting with the need to talk to someone with her thoughts about the Cullen that had returned to school today.

Edward had been surprisingly amiable today, though a little insufferable and smug at times, even asking about her home life and other little things. He had behaved like he was interested to know her, a far cry from the if-you-come-near-me-I'll-kill-you attitude he'd displayed last Monday.

He had thrown her mind for a loop.

There was a yelp and a metallic tinkling sounds as she shoved open the door.

"Bells!" Lori cried, jumping up from her bed in shock.

"Lori! I have to- what were you doing?"

The entire floor of her room, including the bed and the person herself, had coins scattered all over it.

"I'm pretty sure people don't use coins like confetti." Bella deadpanned.

"Of course not." She scoffed. "You came stomping up like a rampaging elephant so I accidentally dropped it all over."

Lori brushed herself off, tinkling noises coming as the coins dropped to the floor from the weirdest of places, avoiding eye contact all the while. "I was just going through my coin collection."

"Since when did you have a coin collection?" Bella eyed her skeptically. She was being oddly.. defensive. And there was something flustered and horrified in her expression, like she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have.

Guilt. Trepidation. Terror.

Like she was waiting for her to run off screaming.

Strangely, she mused, it was somewhat similar to the look Edward sometimes had when he thought she wasn't looking.

Oh, right. _Edward_.

Instantly, the confusion from before boiled up in her again and all suspicious thoughts of how the scattered placement of the coins on the floor didn't seem like it had been dropped by Lori - the coins would have landed all in the spot if that was the case – and how the sound of the coins dropping had sounded more like raindrops falling instead of the pouring sliding sound it would have made if they were all dropped from the same place, disappeared. Once more, Bella's mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of Edward's contrasting attitude towards her.

His mood swings were driving her crazy.

So keen on ranting out her frustrations of his behaviour, Bella missed how Lori visibly sagged in relief.

* * *

 _A/N: Anymore guesses about her secret? Next chapter is the car accident one and Lori's secret power will get revealed! Hehe Leave a review, thank you! :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I'm always grateful for all the support :)_

 _ **jansails**_ _: Yes well, everyone's frustrated with Edward at that moment haha I swear you come up with the best terms HAHA_

 _ **SunflowerFran**_ _: Your guess made my day HAHAHA I never even expected leprechaun as an answer, I think I've always imagined them as short dancing men with green hats like in Harry Potter LOL but anyway I kind of got inspiration from Magneto with his coins in Xmen First Class for that scene so no, no leprechauns HAHA_

 _ **moonwolfed**_ _: Hmm Rosalie and Emmett are purely platonic now. ;) As for Tiffany and Alice, no drama but there's something in store for Tiffany that will rock her world so she's here to stay! :) IKR the novels were good when I read it, but the movies ruined it for me and watching the movie now for reference to write this kind of makes me want to cringe, I'm really not a fan of Kristen Stewart oops_

 _ **jessa76**_ _: Well, perhaps Alice at this point? Because technically, I feel Alice and Lori have had more time to interact with each other compared to Emmett and Lori, and Alice strikes me as the type to take her friendships seriously so it would be quite sad to have a budding friendship halted because of things out of their control.. Alice would be really looking forward to have another girl to talk to that isn't Rosalie_

 _Thank you_ _ **BatmanForPresident**_ _, Guest,_ _ **Skyler999**_ _and_ _ **LauSnape**_ _for your reviews too!_

* * *

 **-CHAPTER 4-**

" _I didn't want to wake up_

 _I was having a much better time asleep_

 _And that's really sad_

 _It was almost like a reverse nightmare_

 _Like when you wake up from a nightmare you're so relieved_

 _ **I woke up into a nightmare**_ _"_

* * *

"I missed you!" Lori cooed, hands fluttering about in loving caresses.

"Lori." Bella stared at her from the driver's seat, entertaining the thought that perhaps the two days of fever had damaged her twin's mental facilities beyond recovery. "It's a truck. The same old truck. Nothing changed."

Lori was currently in very high spirits. She was just so happy at everything and anything. Her fever had abated sometime while she slept, and the accumulated discontentment from being bedridden and confined the past two days only contributed to her glee right now. Even the icy roads, frozen over from the rain last night, didn't bring her down. Bella though, literally brought her down. The older brunette had lost her balance the moment she stepped out the front door. Lori was dragged down with her as Bella had instinctively latched onto the nearest form of support she could get – unfortunately for Lori, it was her arm – and they both landed heavily on the icy driveway.

Despite the pain on her derrière that told her an aching bruise was sure to appear later, Lori only laughed and brushed the incident off. Nothing could bother her.

"I know it's a truck. What are you trying to say?"

"Nevermind." Bella muttered, shaking her head. "Just get in."

"Anyway, about Edward," Lori started, propping her legs up on the dashboard casually as Bella drove off. Said older twin shoved the younger's legs down almost immediately, glaring heatedly. "He apologised, and as far as you know, is going to continue being nice to you?"

"Well, yeah, I hope so."

"Would it be bad of me to hope not?"

"What?!" Bella yelped in disbelief, barely avoiding swerving the truck. Luckily, the truck managed to stay safely on the road. Lori instantly felt a rush of appreciation for Charlie's thoughtful action, remembering seeing the shiny metal chains criss-crossed around the tyres. He must have gotten up really early to put it on for them. "You want him to continue glaring at me?!"

"No! I just-well, kind of imagined the scene where I could give him the overprotective sibling talk." Lori shrugged casually in response to Bella's gawking. "You know, like pull his collar and the _I don't care what your problem is but if you ever mess with my sister again, you've got hell coming for you_ thing?"

Also, now that Edward was cordial towards Bella, that meant that Lori didn't have to ignore Emmett and Alice now. She was worried that they were angry with her for what happened over the last week. It was understandable if they were, and she wouldn't blame them for that or for protecting Edward. _Family_ came first. No matter what. Nevertheless, Lori hoped that they could reconcile and start up their friendship again. She would definitely be sad to not have those two as friends.

Lori would have to try to talk with them, apologize that she had to ignore them because she liked being friends with them but also, not apologize because she didn't think it was wrong. It was contradicting, yes she knew.

Maybe she'd still give Edward a talking to, not for Bella, but for herself. After all, if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be stuck in this awkward position between family and friends.

While debating on what to do towards Edward, the truck slowly rattled into the parking lot. The group of pale people milling about the silver Volvo across the parking lot instantly caught her eyes the moment she got out of the truck.

Alice gave her a smile, the first in days, when their eyes met and Lori couldn't help but return it with one equally as bright. Alice's smile then turned smug, and she gave the guy standing beside her a smack on the arm. Lori's gaze followed her action, landing on Emmett, who offered her a tentative nod and Lori felt her heart melt. Oh, these two were the sweetest, really. She turned her smile to him, wriggling her fingers at him in a little wave and his lips curled up in a full blown grin.

Not that she cared about the J/L Mean Girls Society but at least now that she and the two Cullens were on speaking terms again, Lori wouldn't have to tolerate listening to them trying to pinpoint the reasons for their sudden cold war. Oh, Emmett got sick of her, Emmett found her boring, Emmett thought she was mean, and many other remarks not worth mentioning. She hated the way they talked when they didn't know anything but had been feeling too down to rip them one. Today was a good day, though, so maybe today was the day to shove it in their faces. She couldn't wait.

Bella gave Lori a relieved smile, having felt a little guilty about causing the rift between her sister and them.

Lori inadvertently met Edward's gaze, immediately schooling her expression into a nonchalant one when he smirked amusedly. That smirk had better not mean that he was playing with Bella. It was going to be a while before she could be anything resembling nice to Edward. "Hey, it's the Cullens. And Edstúpido's-"

"I told you not to call him that!" She hissed.

Lori's response was a noncommittal grunt. "Whatever. He's staring. Why?"

"How does he look?" Bella self-consciously tried to angle herself behind Lori's figure.

"The same..? Maybe a little constipated."

"Not that! Does he look angry or uh, well, not angry?"

Lori eyed her sideways, though still keeping Edward and his smirk in her sight suspiciously. "Is he supposed to be? Wasn't he working on being all buddy buddy with you?"

Bella nearly whimpered. She really didn't want to be glared at again. It was infuriating, but also terrifying. "Just want to make sure it's not a fluke, or a mood swing again."

"He's not angry.." Lori started slowly, still not willing to break the staring contest with him though her eyes were starting to burn. God, why did he seem like he had no trouble at all keeping his eyes open for so long? "He looks like he just saw the funniest joke ever, but the thing is, he's staring at us. So I'm guessing, _we're_ the butt of the joke..?"

"..What?"

"I don't get it either. I don't get _him_. You have weird taste, sister."

Bella flushed. "Lori! I don't-"

A loud screech drowned the rest of her sentence out, painfully grating on their ears like nails on a chalkboard.

Whipping around to where it came from, all Lori could see was blue. The deep dark blue of the van currently skidding, looking like it wasn't going to be able to stop anytime soon. It was spinning on the iced over road of the parking lot, hurtling closer towards her and Bella by the second.

Lori understood two things in that fraction of a second. First, if that van didn't stop, it was going to crash into them. Second, if that van didn't stop, Bella would be seriously injured or dead. Worst case scenario, squashed flat like pancake into the side of their red truck.

Her heart thumped vigorously, giving her an adrenaline rush for the fight-or-flight situation. It was like she was in a haze. She was there, yet not there at the same time.

She felt Bella yank on her arm, trying to pull them both to safety. And she felt the pain on when Bella slipped on the ice and took Lori down with her, landing on the ground, legs crumpled and tangled together. Disentangling their legs in time for them to escape seemed impossible. She felt Bella clutch the back of her jacket in a death grip and bury her face in her back, hiding.

Lori _moved_.

It wasn't a conscious decision. She wasn't thinking at all.

Her hand snapped out instinctively, using it to focus and direct her power to the target; the dark blue van.

Lori pushed it away with her mind, imagining and willing with all of her might for it to slow when something hit her from the side abruptly.

Her head cracked hard onto the ground, and she heard another thud from behind her, probably the sound of Bella's head striking the road too. Lori could still feel her sister's hands on the back of her jacket. Something cold and immovable was on top of them, pinning them to the ground.

Her vision was spinning from the impact but she saw it clearly enough; the van was still coming in their direction. They were out of the original point of collision but the van had hit the back corner of their red truck and its trajectory curled. It wasn't as fast as before but at that speed, bones could still be shattered, crushed. Lori's arms were immobilized by whatever that was on top of them but she managed to slide her hand out from underneath. It was closer and slower. She had to stop it.

Her mind was straining, _aching_ , when a pale arm shot out into her vision that was previously just filled with blue, hand smacking into the side of the van. It stopped so suddenly the glass of the windows popped. To her surprise, that hand didn't buckle under the impact but instead, left a deep dent in the blue metal.

Lori was just staring at the tyre of the van inches away from tearing into her face, zoned out, when her and Bella were shifted upright carefully.

Edward Cullen was there, not a single bronze hair out of place, in the limited triangle of space they had, barricaded in by metal. His arms were the ones that had pinned them down, were the ones that had stopped the van.

He turned from talking – arguing? – with Bella to her, his dark amber eyes wide in shock.

Something clicked in her mind as they stared at each other, and Lori knew _he knew_. It was in his eyes.

Everything was a blur after that.

There was a lot of noise, yelling, and sirens. People were bustling around her, pushing and pulling at her like she was a rag doll, trying to get her to move or answer questions, she didn't know. Her mind was in a daze, her body on auto-pilot. The only thing her mind could comprehend, was that _someone_ _knew._

And then, everything went black.

* * *

Lori woke up to a tingling feeling on the back of her neck. It was slightly creepy, and hair-raising. Someone was watching her.

"Miss Swan, are you awake?" The voice that came was low and soothing, not meant to startle but it did anyway.

She flinched in surprise, eyes blinking rapidly to clear her vision. The first thing she saw was Dr. Carlisle Cullen. She assumed it was him. Charlie and her schoolmates had mentioned that the patriarch of that family was a doctor. The pale skin, amber eyes, and flawless face features of a Greek statue were also a giveaway. They were all the similarities the Cullen-Hale family shared.

Her heartbeat instantly quickened. She remembered Edward. She remembered the accident and that he knew. Did he tell his family? The Cullen family was _strange_ too, definitely, but what would they think of her? She didn't know how to feel about any of them. It was uncomfortable.

He moved to help her sit up when she struggled, but she inevitably flinched away when the cold of his hands penetrated through her clothes. "How are you feeling?"

"Where's-" She croaked, voice rasping horrendously and he handed her a cup of water with a smile. Lori accepted it gratefully yet warily, and spoke again when her throat didn't burn any longer. "Bella, is she alright?"

"She's fine, only a bump on the head, mild concussion. In fact, you and Mr. Crowley – the driver of the van – are the only ones that had to stay." Carlisle smiled reassuringly as he told her. His whole demeanour was gentlemanly and calm.

Lori decided that perhaps he didn't know. If he did, surely he wouldn't be behaving so kindly. Or it could be his doctor professionalism, unable to turn away an unconscious patient. But she saw no signs that he was afraid of her. "Oh. When..?"

"Only this morning. You've been out for a few hours. Chief Swan went back with your sister first. You had a nosebleed and a possible concussion so I suggested you stay the night for observation."

"I see." Lori was relieved. There didn't need to be more things wrong with her brain. She already knew the reason for the nosebleed. It was a manifestation of the overexertion while using her powers. It had happened often enough whenever she had practiced too much.

"My children seem fond of you." He started while giving her the standard check-up, smiling amiably at Lori's confused look. "Emmett and Alice are very concerned over your well-being."

"Yes, well, we've talked. They're very friendly." She didn't know why, but he looked a little smug, like he knew something she didn't and was happy about it.

Finally, after prodding her head and flashing his penlight in her eyes, he proclaimed Lori well enough to go home tomorrow after another check-up in the morning. Carlisle bid her farewell and left her to stew in her thoughts. There was no other mention of the accident, nor her abilities, nor of Edward.

She was very puzzled, but also felt it was better this way. Unfortunately, it looked like she would never get to give that reconciliation apology speech to those two. It would be better if she didn't interact with them again. She didn't want to answer questions.

She wanted to pretend it never happened at all.

Lori Swan was just a normal girl, that's all. She was normal.

* * *

"Lori!" Bella cried, and Lori found herself with an armful of brunette. "You were bleeding from your nose, and Edward was worried he might have smacked your head too hard because you weren't waking up-"

"Are you alright?" Charlie asked over Bella's rambling, hovering at the foot of her bed.

"I'm fine, totally fine. Dr. Cullen said so." She managed a smile for the both of them.

"Oh, is that so? That's great, then." He heaved, visibly relaxing. "You'll uh, also have to call your mother."

Lori gaped at him and he winced. Bella suppressed a groan. "She's totally freaking out even after I called her yesterday. And she told Tiffany too."

"Right. I'll call them later."

The three of them stared at each in silence for a moment, Charlie not knowing what to say as he didn't want to be the overbearing parent, Bella because she wanted to talk about things that would be weird in front of Charlie, and Lori just not being in the mood to keep up appearances other than smiling. She was too drained mentally to try to be the mood maker.

Carlisle was their saviour. He popped his head in, calling for Charlie to fill in the forms to discharge Lori. The moment Charlie left, Bella pounced.

"Lori, do you remember what happened? The accident?" She asked urgently.

"Yeah.." Lori stiffened.

"Edward was there, right? But he was across the lot, you were staring at him! And you saw him stop the van with his bare hands, right?"

"Bella," Lori stared at her, wishing to avoid this whole topic altogether. "Have you asked Edward? What did he say?"

"That he was beside us, that he was walking towards us when the van came, and that it was impossible for a human to do that." Her eyes narrowed. "But he's lying! I know it!"

"Let go of it."

"What?" Bella's eyes widened. "You don't believe me? You think I'm crazy too like he said?"

"I didn't say that!" Lori huffed. "I just-look, people have their secrets so why don't you just let him keep his?"

"No!" Bella growled, anger sparking in her eyes. "He's _lying_ and he won't explain anything!"

"Why do you want to know?! What good will knowing do you?!" Lori was starting to get frustrated too at Bella's stubbornness.

"Why can't I know?!" Bella demanded, feeling wronged. "What's wrong with me, why can't he tell me the truth?!"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." Lori said flatly, turning away.

"You're my sister! You're supposed to back me up!" Bella snapped, hurt and betrayal fuelling her sharp tone.

"Don't dig into things you're not supposed to!" Lori snarled back. "If he doesn't want to explain, then _leave it be_!"

"What do you mean ' _not supposed to_ '?! We're involved in this! I-we saw it! So we have the right to know!"

When Charlie returned, it was to a room full of cold tension with both sisters ignoring the other. He was understandably confused.

The next day, the atmosphere between the sisters was still as strained. They didn't say a word to each other – Lori outright ignoring Bella and Bella shooting Lori angry looks – whether in the morning or during the drive to school.

Lori was beside herself in barely concealed panic. She couldn't stop thinking about the Cullens. Edward hadn't told his father but had he told them? Would they be afraid of her? Should she try to deny it?

She needn't have worried, Lori found out.

The month after was filled with people swarming her at every minute, either wanting to know the itty bitty details or genuinely wanting to know about her health. Nobody gave her the creeped out look or said anything. It was like Tyler was the villain, Edward the hero and the Swan sisters the damsels in distress as though it was a fairy tale. Lori slowly made it through the crowd, giving out small smiles and courteous but dismissive answers, confused and wary.

Tyler Crowley, the villain himself, had become completely insufferable. Apparently, he had given up on Bella for Mike, and had turned his affections towards Lori in a misguided attempt at an apology for landing her in hospital overnight. He was following her everywhere, apologising continuously and overeager in trying to help by carrying her books. He was driving her up the wall. Somehow, he had also gotten her number and had taken to leaving her apology messages as well. Lori was seriously considering siccing Charlie on him.

So she figured that Edward hadn't told anybody. Lori supposed it could be that he understood the importance of keeping secrets secret, unlike Bella. She would keep quiet about theirs in return for their silence about hers. Still, the Cullens were _strange_ and Lori wanted to distance herself from them, no matter how nice they were. She'd had enough of weird things for a lifetime by herself, she was not keen on adding on more strangeness from others into her life.

Lori honestly had no intention of finding out their secret. She was going to see how true the phrase ' _out of sight, out of mind_ ' really was.

Life really liked to throw her curveballs. Just not long before, she was looking forward to reconciling with Alice and Emmett, and now she was going to act like they were strangers. Lori's day of high spirits seemed like it was years ago. Life really had something against her friendships. Tiffany was the first and only friend she'd made that lasted years. Tiffany had persisted and persisted, following her around so that Lori could know that she wasn't leaving and was serious about becoming friends with her.

Unexpectedly, when they met in English, that first day after her stay in the hospital, Alice didn't try to start conversation at all. They went through the whole period in silence, without even a glance. None of the Cullens acknowledged her during lunch either, not even Emmett. There wasn't a wave nor a smile. Lori couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment buried within the relief. It was better this way. In any case, it was easier when both parties were doing the ignoring.

For some reason, the Swan sisters weren't the only siblings not on good terms. Lori noticed that both Emmett and Edward weren't speaking to each other either; their faces were terrifying in their anger. She dismissed it though. The Cullens were none of her business now.

"Guys, what's going on?" Eric hesitantly poked, sharing a worried glance with Angela. "You've been like this for the past few days.. ever since the van.."

Their friends sitting at the table had also noticed that there was tension between the sisters. The crossed arms and sullen glares in the opposite directions were clear signs.

"Nothing." They chorused, shooting a glare at the other for the syncing of their answers.

"Bella's being stubborn."

"Lori's being unsupportive."

Lori slapped a hand down on the table. "It's not whether I'm supporting you or not! You should respect other people's privacy!"

Bella flushed red in anger, and a little embarrassment at all the attention their spat was drawing. "I have a right to know!"

"I'm not stopping you from doing anything. Do it if you want, just leave me out of it." Lori huffed. "I want no part in this."

Their cold war continued on, whether in school or at home.

"Why won't you help me?!" Bella shouted as Lori stormed up the stairs to her room.

"I don't want anything to do with the Cullens. I've told you, I don't want to know!" Lori felt like tearing her hair out in frustration. "Why can't you just stop asking me?!"

Even Charlie wasn't spared from the feud, having to brave the uneasy atmosphere when the three were seated at the dining table. He thought he should better prepare some medicine; he wouldn't be surprised if he got indigestion. It was impossible to eat in peace, and this feud didn't appear to be getting resolved anytime soon.

The sisters too, weren't unaffected. Stress was piling up on them as well. Both were suffering from nightmares and each day, the bags under their eyes grew darker. Of course, nobody was the wiser about Lori since she was adept at covering it up with makeup.

Weeks passed by in this manner and eventually, the conflict between the twins had died down enough for them to become civil again. Though their civility was still a tad uneasy at times, they had agreed to disagree on this matter, shoving it into the back of their minds since there was no longer any point in this argument when the topic – the Cullens – was ignoring them.

Soon, in two weeks, it would be the girls' choice spring dance.

Lori had been made aware of this in a particularly unpleasant way. All these guys she'd never even spoken to before were coming up to her with roundabout questions and asking her to ask them to the dance, which she felt was really ridiculous and totally against the girls' choice principle. She'd had to turn them down, and their kicked puppy looks afterward sapped her strength. Only the decent ones got a polite refusal though. Those that were plain arrogant and cocky got some harsh retorts straight to their face with no mercy at all.

Luckily for her, she had a legit excuse. Tiffany would be coming to stay that weekend as promised before Lori shifted. By some stroke of coincidence, their different schools had the dance on the same weekend. She still needed to avoid her ex-boyfriend and had finally decided to come to Forks instead of trying to uphold her I'm-doing-well-without-you image and brave the dance without her female best friend. Tiffany was also coming to Forks the weekend before. She had somehow discerned that Lori was down in the dumps through their emails and phone calls, and had wrangled her parents into letting her come to Forks for the two weekends. Charlie had graciously accepted their visitor as long as they were fine to share Lori's room.

That day, their guy friends were all fidgety in their seats during lunch and Lori only found out at the end of the day. Something else uncommon was that Alice and Emmett had been sneaking her looks during English and lunch. It was as if they were waiting for something to happen. Alice seemed more smug while Emmett was just troubled. Edward and Emmett also appeared to have gotten into another spat at lunch again, Edward storming out of the cafeteria and Emmett brooding at the table, adding to the gloomy aura already emanating to him.

After school, Lori was nearing the truck – mostly repaired after the accident except the dent Edward left – when she spotted a head of black hair waiting, leaning against the truck. For a moment, her heart skipped, wondering if it was Emmett waiting for her like he used to before during her first few days.

Then, she recognised the face that came with the black hair. It was Eric, looking quite clammy and a nervous wreck.

"Eric? What's up?"

"H-hey!" He squeaked. "Uh, I'm waiting for Bella..?"

"What for?" Lori asked, genuinely oblivious to his intent, as she dumped her bag in the cab.

"I want to ask her to the dance.."

She cringed internally. Lori didn't expect that Eric would want to ask Bella. She actually thought Eric and Angela would be good together.

"Hey, Eric!" Bella called, nearing the truck.

"I'll just go inside so you can um, yeah, alone." Lori clambered into the cab, shutting the door to give him some semblance of privacy.

Eric jumped, and Lori eyed him sympathetically, steeling herself to watch Bella turn him down. She couldn't decide whether to be embarrassed for him or for Bella.

"Bella! I-I was wondering if you would go to the spring dance with me?"

"Wasn't it girls' choice?" Bella subtle attempt to reject him failed but she tried again with a warmer smile at the shy flush on his face. "Sorry, but I'm going to Seattle that day."

"Maybe next time, then."

"Sure." Bella quirked an eyebrow at Lori, as they watched him walk away.

"Not judging, sister. I've had to turn down some guys too." Lori held her hands up.

"Mike tried to ask me." Bella groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I told him to ask Jessica though."

"A win-win situation. Good job." The twins shared a fist bump.

They turned around at a low chuckle. Edward was walking by the front of the truck, lips firmly pursed together as though suppressing laughter. Lori could've sworn he glanced at both her and Bella. She frowned. Why was the Cullen paying attention to them again?

Lori stared, bewildered as Bella quickly hopped into the truck and started the engine. "What's the rush for?"

She only shook her head, stepping on the accelerator to reverse out into the aisle of the parking lot, only to brake again soon after. Edward's shiny Volvo was blocking the way, assumedly waiting for his family. A glance at the side mirror told Lori that a line of cars was forming behind their truck.

"What a turd." Lori murmured. "That's road hogging. Can we report him to dad?"

She glanced warily at Bella's fingers tapping agitatedly on the wheel. Edward and Bella looked to be at odds again out of the blue. Did they have another argument in Biology? Why did Edward start talking to Bella again? Lori thought that Bella should just leave the Cullens alone; she had a hunch that their secret was going to turn their world upside down, and maybe not for the better. But sharing her thoughts on this would only start another rift between her and her sister and Lori had gotten enough of arguing for a while.

They were just waiting for Edward to move when there was a tap on Lori's window. Tyler was there with a smile, motioning for her to wind down the window.

Lori did so with a confused look. Bella called out from the driver's seat, an annoyed look on her face. "Sorry, Tyler. I'm stuck behind Cullen."

"No, no, it's fine." Tyler grinned. "Actually, I had a question for Lori."

Lori was horrified. She hoped desperately it wasn't what she thought it was. Tyler was starting to becoming stalker-ish.

"Will you ask me to the dance, Lori?"

"I'm dreaming. Hallucinating." Lori turned to Bella, a plea in her tone. "There's no one there."

"Uh, what? Lori, are you alright?"

"He's there. And he's asking." Bella deadpanned.

"Tyler, I'm not going to the dance." Lori's smile twitched.

"Yeah, one of my friends said that." He shrugged.

Her frown deepened. "Then why would you still ask me?"

"I was hoping you were letting him down easy." He grinned.

A scathing retort was on the tip of her tongue – _you're the one I'm letting down easy or maybe I shouldn't_ – but Tyler was still somewhat the friend of her friends. A sparing of his feelings was necessary. She bit it back. "Sorry, I'm really not free. My friend from Phoenix is coming over."

"That's alright. We still have prom." And then, with a parting wink and smirk, he was gone.

Lori was left dumbfounded, frozen in her seat. Bella disguised a snicker as a cough at the sight of her face.

She let out a stifled scream of indignation. Screw sparing his feelings, she'd _butcher_ him if he dared to ask her out again. "We still have prom?! What makes him think I'm going to go with him-Oh my god! That bloody lout! Can I strangle him? If I strangle him, will he stop being so guilt-ridden?!"

Bella full out laughed at the desperate look on Lori's face and the grabby motions her hands were making as though Lori was imagining Tyler's neck there. Looking away from her, Bella caught sight of shaking shoulders in the Volvo in front. Edward and Emmett's silhouettes were unmistakable. They were clearly laughing as well. It was almost as if they had heard Tyler and Lori's conversation.

* * *

Bella dropped the key to the truck, her icy fingers fumbling as she tried to lock the door to the truck. She heaved a sigh of frustration, inwardly cursing her always uncooperative body.

Lori bent down to help her find the key; Bella's frozen fingers had inadvertently shoved it deeper into the layer of snow. This level of clumsiness was a little too much, even for Bella. She was unanimously the best cook in the house since forever; Bella had never even burnt an egg before, yet yesterday, she'd nearly burnt down the kitchen along with their dinner. The older brunette had been in a daze, alternating between stages of perplexity and anger, but no matter how much Lori pried, Bella wouldn't say anything. Lori wondered just what was it that was taking up so much of her sister's attention that Bella was becoming more of a danger to herself and others.

"Found it!" Just as her fingers uncovered the key, pale fingers appeared in Bella's vision and picked it up.

Both sisters jolted upright immediately, only to be met with the sight of Edward Cullen leaning against the truck with Emmett beside him.

Lori blanched. She hadn't been near Edward ever since the van incident.

"How do you that?!"

"Do what?" Edward was the picture of innocence, if not for the smug minuscule curl of his lips at the corner.

"That." Bella grumbled as she took the key he held out to her. "You keep appearing out of thin air."

"Bella, I can't help it if you're exceptionally unobservant."

She bristled at his patronizing tone and the two quickly devolved into what was somehow becoming their norm; a quarrel. Meanwhile, Lori couldn't even remove her gaze from the ground. She was stuck in a dilemma, pondering over whether it would be too rude but she was really itching to leave.

He was still there; she could see his shoes in front of her. Resigning herself to face him, and cursing her upbringing for her manners, she gave him a curt nod. "Cullen."

"Hey, munchkin." Emmett murmured when she looked up. His smile faltered when Lori's expression remained indifferent and she started off in the direction of the school building without another word. It was a speedy escape, but he didn't need to know that. Her manners were satisfied enough with the greeting for her to leave.

"Hey! No, wait!" He strode up beside her. "I just want to talk."

"I don't want to talk."

"Then listen!" Emmett grabbed her arm, bringing her to a stop. "Just listen to me."

"Why? Just what do you want? Why are you suddenly talking to me again?"

"I want to explain." He pleaded, his amber eyes sincere and guilty. "Let me explain."

"I don't need it. I want nothing to do with you or your family any longer." He was really wearing her down. His attitude was making it infuriatingly difficult to reject but she had to.

" _Please_ , Lori. I need you to listen to me." His fingers were like stone around her. Her feeble tries at shaking off his firm grip went ignored. She realized he wouldn't be releasing her without some sort of promise from her.

"Fine!" She narrowed her eyes, hating the fact that she couldn't resist crumbling in front of him especially when he was being so earnest and desperate. "Five minutes, no more. After school. Now, will you let go of me?"

"Yeah, sure." His words differed from his actions. Instead of readily releasing her like his words suggested, his fingers lingered, brushing down her arm. It was as though he was saying he didn't want to let go of her. "I'll be waiting for you."

The contact coupled with the intense look in his eyes gave her chills. It suddenly felt so intimate and the air between them sparked. Goose bumps raised on her skin under her sleeves where his fingers trailed. "Whatever." She mumbled, giving him one last glance before hurrying away from him into the building.

* * *

"What did you just do?" Lauren's voice was dangerous.

"What?" Lori plastered the wide doe-eyed innocent look on her face. "Oh no, by all means, please. Keep talking. I always yawn when I'm interested."

Lori was annoyed enough to lose the filter for her brain-to-mouth connection. She had been told someone wanted to meet her and thought it was Emmett trying to meet her during lunch instead of after school as they agreed to. Some girls had grabbed her as she was walking down the hallway, pulling her into this restroom that was in an less-crowded section of the school. They had unceremoniously dumped her onto the floor the moment they arrived, scraping her palms and knees. It was a bad day to wear a skirt; her tights were torn now.

Surprisingly though, Lori didn't see Jessica anywhere. There was only Lauren, and a few of her sidekicks.

"You've been a real bitch lately, you know."

"You're one to talk. Have you looked in the mirror lately?" Lori scoffed. She was hungry, and a hungry man is a crabby man.

"I think you need to learn your place."

"Oh, I know it well. It's above you." Lori flashed her a rude gesture. "All the boys are trying to get me to ask them to the dance. They've switched from you to me. You're threatened, is that it?"

"They're just asking you because you're the new toy." Lauren gave a derisive laugh. She cast a pitiful look at Lori. "You can't possibly believe that they actually like you, do you?"

"Then, what _is_ this about?" Lori didn't really care about what Lauren wanted; her words were sinking in just enough for her to form retorts. Her stomach was the more important issue at this moment.

Lauren snorted, a glint of condescension in her eyes. She stalked forward, drawing herself to her full height as an intimidation factor. With each step Lauren took, she shoved at Lori's shoulder roughly, until Lori was backed into the wall.

Lori struggled to hide her wince. Lauren definitely had more strength to her than it looked. Unfortunately, Lori was just as weak as her physique suggested. She couldn't hold her stance against Lauren's consecutive strikes. Bruises were certain to appear after this.

"Poor little new girl." She cooed patronizingly, twirling a lock of Lori's hair around her finger. "You don't know, do you? The Cullens never liked you, nobody likes you that much, it's all just pity for the new girl. They've abandoned you. They won't even look at you now, don't they?"

Lori figured there was a little lag in their information gathering. After all, Emmett _had_ approached her this morning. Eyeing the girls in front of her, she was starting to get annoyed at their pathetic behaviour. Bullies were all the same; trying to push down people they didn't like or felt endangered by.

"You're just a loser now!" One of the other girls tittered. "Maybe they finally realised what a freak you were."

Lori's fists clenched. She was only slightly bothered by their words – she knew that whatever they said shouldn't be taken seriously but the insults were designed to hurt – and this situation was starting to bring up memories. Bitter memories that were shoved deep down inside. It was almost like before. The ugly feelings welling up in her; anger and humiliation. And the things that these ugly feelings led to.. She never wanted it to happen again.

" _She's a freak! Everyone, stay away from her!"_

Shame.

" _You shouldn't have been born!"_

Worthlessness.

Lori had to control herself. If she lost control now..

"She's not even talking back anymore." Someone sneered. "Because you know it's true, right?"

 _CRACK._

One of the mirrors above the sinks broke, the loud sound echoing in the restroom, large black fissures spreading over the glass.

Lori breathed heavily, nails digging into the flesh of her palm. She was staring hard at her feet, struggling to keep her power from lashing out. The pain was helping her to focus but panic was also rising up, threatening to engulf her. What if her power exploded? What if she killed someone? Horrible images of the imagined scenarios flashed through her mind.

It was getting difficult to breathe now. She felt like she couldn't get enough air.

All she could do was focus on was the mantra she was chanting in her head, doing her best to tune out Lauren and the others.

Keep calm. Don't lose control. Calm. Control. _Calm. Control._

She couldn't lose control here. She just couldn't. She _can't_ cause trouble for Bella and Charlie, not like she did for Renee. She had to protect them.

Also, regardless of her feelings towards Lauren, she was just a girl, uninvolved with the unordinary. Lori wouldn't be able to live with herself if she harmed her accidentally. She _cannot_ be exposed either. They weren't children anymore, when adults would pass it off as tales of their overactive imagination. Maybe now she'd get hauled off to a secret experimentation facility or a mental hospital.

"What the-?" The girls stared at the cracked mirror, slightly spooked. Every school was bound to have their own ghost stories floating around and at Forks High, most of them were concerning the toilets.

"Look," Lauren fisted Lori's hair, yanking her head up to look at her. Lauren grinned at the hiss of pain Lori let escape through gritted teeth, leaning down to whisper menacingly in her ear. "Don't overstep your boundaries. You're just the new girl. Keep your head down."

A light bulb burst, shattered glass raining down onto the floor. Lauren's cronies shrieked in surprise.

"Lauren, let's just go. It's creepy." One of them whimpered, huddling close to the other girls.

"Alright, fine." Lauren patted Lori's cheeks hard, looking down her nose at her, a cruel smile on her lips. The smacking sound of her hand against Lori's cheek rang sharp and clear. Her long fingernails scraped four bloody lines down Lori's left cheek. "Bye for now, new girl. Here's a souvenir."

The girls filed out after Lauren, casting dubious looks at the mirror and light as they went. There was a click after the door closed; it was locked from the outside. Finally safe to relax, Lori slumped down onto the floor. She shakily opened her fists, there were four little bleeding crescent marks embedded in the palm of each hand. Her cheek stung too, as the tears started to spill over and seeped into the cuts.

She leant her head back on the wall, avoiding the sore spot where Lauren pulled her hair. She didn't care how dirty or grimy it was to be on the floor of a toilet. She was tired, so _tired_.

Why was it happening again?

Why wasn't she born normal?

Why was it that her nightmares and her reality were starting to look like they were one and the same?

* * *

 _A/N: Drama. Drama. Drama. Looks like Lori's getting a bad turn in life. :(_

 _Review, please. I'd love to know what y'all think!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: First of all, Sorry it took so long for this update to come, and secondly, sorry that it's not as long as the others! I've just got a job, six-day work week (ugh) and I've been so tired, that's why, coming updates are going to be quite sporadic. I'll try not to drag for too many months though._

 _Here's the next chapter anyway. Once again, thank you all for your interest in my story!_

 ** _EDIT 1/10/2018:_** _A thank you to Clara who let me know there's a contradiction in this chapter about Bella being the younger twin. Sorry about the typo! I've corrected it and for clarification, Bella is the older twin!_

* * *

 **-CHAPTER 5-**

 _"For you, I could pretend_

 _like I was happy when I was sad_

 _For you, I could pretend_

 _like I was strong when I was hurt"_

— _BTS "Fake Love"_

* * *

Lori flinched violently, startled, at the sound of the door banging against the wall as it was flung open, bouncing back off the wall behind it with the force, and a hulking brunette stormed in.

"Lori!" His wild expression instantly calmed at the sight of her, sat on the floor at the far end with her back leaning against the wall, though he spared a confused glance to the broken glass littering the floor.

"This is the girls' toilet, you know." She remarked dryly as Emmett rushed to crouch by her side. "And the floor's dirty."

He inhaled sharply, then suddenly stopped as though his breath had gotten stuck, hitting a barrier halfway through his nose. His face scrunched up a little.

She gave him a weird look. "Does the toilet really stink that bad?"

"No, it's not the toilet." His reply was strangled, and she watched him let out a breath and take in another one slowly.

"Don't tell me it's me? I'm the one that stinks?" She snorted weakly.

Somehow, just the sight of Emmett here, despite all the misgivings she still had about his family's secret, made it easier to breathe. His presence made it easier to laugh, and her sarcasm had involuntarily slipped out.

He shook his head. His lips curled into an amused smile, like there was an inside joke she wasn't aware of, before it dipped downwards in a frown again. His hands clenched at his sides, gaze trained on her cheek. "You're hurt."

A sarcastic remark passed through her mind again but she scrapped it before she could blurt it out. She thought it would probably be a bad idea because Emmett didn't look like he was in the mood for it. She sighed tiredly and offered him a placating smile. "I know. It's fine, it's just a scratch."

"Those are _not_ just a scratch, Lori." He bit out. His fists were now trembling with the force he was clenching it with, eyes narrowing angrily at her.

"I've had worse." She shrugged carelessly. "Calm down."

A wrong choice of words that only seemed to fuel his anger, she realised on hind sight.

"Worse?!" Emmett hissed under his breath.

One of his hands jerked like he wanted to bring it up to touch her but quickly restrained himself. Emmett cursed under his breath, looking at her with guilty eyes. "I should've been here sooner."

She waved him off, slightly amused by the way his anger had turned into guilt so abruptly.

It was ridiculous, in any case. How was it his fault?

If anything, it was hers.

Again.

As usual.

"It's not like you knew what was going to happen. How did you know I was here anyway?"

It was only meant as a casual question but the moment she said it, her mind unconsciously began to really think about it. How did he know? She couldn't imagine Lauren or the other girls happily telling him where they had dragged her off to and even if that did happen, how did he know it was them?

She also clearly remembered the sound of the door locking behind Lauren with finality, yet he had opened the door with no trouble. Nearly knocked it down in one go, in fact.

"I didn't see you in the cafeteria so I went looking." He attempted a smirk. "I thought you might have skipped to bail on me."

She eyed him closely.

Was he that desperate for her to understand him? How could he be so willing to out his and his family's secret so easily?

She couldn't help but wonder, her thoughts going off-track, whether there was ever a time when Emmett quailed in the face of something. Whether the guy had ever backed down in fear, or just whether he had ever felt nervous and unsure.

To be brave, or just plain excited to take on whatever the world threw at him; it was obvious that Emmett was the type of guy that would relish and find fun in all the challenges he met. To her, he basically embodied the mindset of ' _when life gives you lemons, make lemonade_ '. She envied such characteristics, so different from her own 'out of sight, out of mind' tendencies.

Would he explain all the half-truths he had been feeding her?

Was she ready to be in the know?

Was she ready for the burden of another secret besides her own?

Lori had agreed to hear him out earlier but she still didn't really know whether she wanted to know or not. She just couldn't decide.

God, she just wanted to grab her consciousness and give it a good shake. _Don't be wishy-washy anymore! Decide! Like right now, decide!_

He sighed, choosing to not continue the subject when her eyes glazed over and it was clear her attention was not all there any longer. Gathering her into his arms so quickly she couldn't even protest, Emmett stood up in one graceful fluid motion, displaying no sign of exertion at her weight.

Lori let out a gasp at the sudden change in height, arms flying around his neck.

"I won't let you fall." He promised, his eyes burning with something she couldn't place as he stared at her. "Never."

She nodded slowly, unsure of how to reply to his intense declaration she felt had another meaning but her fingers relaxed from where they had been digging into his shoulders. His arms were firm around her, holding her body tightly to his. There was no way she could feel unsafe in his arms, whether physically or emotionally.

"Back there.." Emmett said hesitantly as he kicked open the door and started heading down the corridor. "What-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Lori.." His tone was reproachful but she didn't care. "At least, tell me who-

" _No_." She whispered hoarsely, burying her face into the junction of his neck and shoulder. The wool of his sweater tickled her cheek.

It must have been strange for him to see her display such vulnerability, she knew. It was a testament to just how drained she was. Her senses were all strung out from Lauren and her cronies, and trying to rein in her outburst of power; she had no more strength in her to retain her usual composure.

She couldn't put up a front anymore, but she still didn't want to face it. It was _difficult_ to talk about it because as long as she didn't say it out loud, didn't admit it to anybody else, she could still pretend that nothing was wrong. That all these abnormalities didn't exist. She didn't want to make it more _real_.

Emmett, the Cullens, their secret, her secret, Bella and Edward, Renee, Charlie. Her mind was whirling. _Overwhelmed_. She had been stressing over all these issues, and for now, for just a while, she wanted to shove it all aside and not think about it.

At this point in time, none of it existed. None of it.

"No more. Just take me home, _please_."

Emmett didn't utter a single word after that, but she felt his hands tighten around her.

* * *

"I'm fine." Lori insisted to the grandmotherly nurse fussing over her, while shooting Emmett a baleful glare.

The man was currently standing beside the cot she was sitting on, arms folded and face stony. He was, for all purposes, looking exactly like the classic surly overprotective bodyguard.

She had thought that he would be bringing her to the carpark so she could leave school like she had asked – _pleaded_ \- but apparently, Emmett didn't share the same train of thought. It was only when he took the 'wrong' turn to the front office that she realised his destination was the nurse's office.

"Just a small scratch, really." She mumbled, wanting to hurry up and leave already. "Nothing serious."

Lori ignored the scoff that came from beside her.

She would have swatted him or something, but she already knew it was a lost cause. The darn hulk. What was he on anyway, steroids?

The nurse narrowed her eyes disapprovingly at the teenager. "Scratch or not, small or not, I have to treat it."

Lori cringed away as the elderly woman swabbed at her cheek with more force than necessary. That was exactly why she refrained from snapping at her. She had learnt early on from their repeated trips to the hospital that nurses – no matter how gentle and nice they looked – all had a sleeping dragon that reared its head when provoked inside of them.

She barely held in her sigh of relief as the door opened again and the nurse stopped roughly handling her cheek in favour of turning to look at the door. She was starting to become mortified, thinking that she might have looked like a hamster hoarding its food in its cheeks. Lori certainly felt like it, with how hard the nurse was grabbing her chin.

"Looks like you Cullen brothers are quite the Prince Charmings today." Mrs Cope, the front desk receptionist, remarked with a coy laugh as she stuck her head in through the doorway.

There wasn't any time for Lori to feel confused before the door was nudged open wider with a foot and the reason for Mrs Cope's statement came walking through.

Edward Cullen swept into the room, gallantly carrying her older sister who was looking all pale and like she was about to be sick yet also somehow faintly disgruntled.

Bella was gently set down on the cot next to hers, lips pursed and glaring at the smirk on Edward's face. He offered a sly shrug before explaining to the nurse. "She fainted in Biology. They're blood typing."

"Oh, there's always one of those. Just a moment, dear. I'll be right with you when I'm done with your sister over here." She gave Bella a kind smile. "Lie down for a minute; it'll pass."

Lori immediately averted her gaze to the corner of the blanket she was fiddling with in her lap the moment she caught Edward's eyes flickering over in her direction.

"Lori?" Bella gasped in shock, forgetting her embarrassment. "What happened to you?"

"Fell and bashed my cheek open. It's fine. I'm fine. Just a scratch." She attempted a smile to ease her sister's worry but immediately aborted it, wincing as the sudden pull of her muscles made the scratches in question start oozing sluggishly.

A scoff came again from her 'bodyguard' at the side even as he quickly tossed a pack of gauze towards her.

" _I'm fine_."

" _Sure_." It was obvious in his tone that Emmett didn't believe a word she was saying.

Bella and Edward shared a look as they remained silent in the face of the tension between their siblings.

* * *

Lori stared out the window, eyes on the scenery whipping past but glazed over.

The Cullens had a minor freak-out, loudly protesting when Bella had said she would drive the two of them back home in their red truck. Lori couldn't decide whether to be angry on her sister's behalf at the two brothers trying to coddle them or be amused when Edward looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel arguing with Bella. Then, when she thought he was about to just haul Bella over his shoulder caveman style and dump her into his Volvo, Lori quickly pulled open the door and got into the backseat herself.

Sure, it was hilarious to see Edward so frustrated but she had already waited long enough to go back home. Why not cut the debate short and take him up on his offer?

Lori managed a quick goodbye wave and an even quicker thank you to Emmett, who was to be driving their 'piece of crap' truck behind them, before Bella huffed and slammed the Volvo's door so hard she saw Edward wince.

As Edward stepped on the gas to the Swan residence, the voices of Edward and Bella still arguing had all but faded into background noise.

She needed to think.

Lori would've been happy to continue denying everything and anything regarding all the strangeness, screw everyone who says that denial is the worst but there was one glaring point that would render her choice to hide moot.

The Cullens weren't going anywhere. They were, more or less, here to stay for long-term. It would be impossible to simply stay low and hope that everything wouldn't go to pieces. Hiding and pretending was no longer a viable option for her.

For so long, she had been hiding her powers, trying to avoid trouble and living in secrecy as though behind a mask every day.

Should she be happy that she was finally not the only one that was abnormal, because she knew deep down in her heart that this ability would never go away, or should she be angry that they were giving her so much trouble by being not normal themselves?

But technically, she was the one who came to their town and increased the chances of outing their secret. If anyone was angry, shouldn't it be them who were angry? They should have been angry and wary of her.

Yes, Lori mused, that was probably the reason for the cold shoulder from the Cullens at the beginning. That made sense. They were trying to keep their secret a secret!

Then why didn't they simply continue ignoring her and Bella? Why would Alice, Emmett and Edward try to befriend them? Was it a case of keep your friends close and your enemies closer? A pre-emptive measure? Like I know your secrets too, so if you out me, I won't go down alone?

Wait, Lori thought, brows furrowing. If they used that threat on her, she could also use it on them, couldn't she? After all, both parties would know the other's secret.

And how did she know, that they wouldn't abandon her after she gave up her secrets? Their back-and-forth attitudes about befriending them was giving her whiplash. They could very well decide to not be friends with her after.

Lori huffed, barely resisting the urge to roughly mess at her hair in frustration.

She should have been given the power to see the future or read minds instead of being able to move things with her mind, she grumbled to herself. Her head hurt from trying to think out all the possible reasons and outcomes.

Lori thumped her head on the door, wishing the slight pain would help give her brain some clarity and stop going in circles.

Ultimately, she knew, the only two options she had were to either listen to Emmett's explanation and confirm their suspicions of her telekinesis, or to just continue burying her head in the sand.

After all, she had already outed her powers by stopping the van in front of Edward's eyes, but they had yet to say anything about it. She hadn't heard any gossip or had any trouble (except Lauren, but that was obviously because of her misplaced jealousy and nothing to do with the supernatural).

That meant she could, to a certain extent, trust them.

But if she shared her secret, admitted her secret, what would happen? Would it be like before? Would she only cause more trouble for everyone?

She was ignorant before. Unaware of the cruelty hiding in people, unaware of their fear and disgust for the abnormal and the unknown.

Now, she knew. She knew it very well.

" _You're saying you want to expel my daughter?!"_

 _Lori flinched. Renee's voice had risen to the point where it could be heard even from in the hallway where Lori was sitting outside the principal's office._

" _I'm saying, it would be better for both her and the other students if Lorraine were to transfer schools. I'm sorry but this is the only way."_

" _So, she's getting expelled."_

" _No, she's getting transferred. Or I'll have to take matters into my own hands and I'm sure you don't want that to be on your daughter's record."_

" _This doesn't make sense. My daughter's the one getting bullied – they've all outcast her, she's scared to go outside the house and she goes through the day looking like a zombie – and she's the one getting punished?!" There was a loud smack of skin meeting table wood._

" _Look, Miss Higginbotham, there's no better way to put it but Lorraine's a trouble child. I don't know what she's done to suddenly have all the other children avoiding her but wherever she goes, things break. I think she might have a violent side to her; the other children are all scared of her."_

" _They're scared of her?!" A loud scoff. "She's being bullied! She comes home with her things torn – they've thrown stones at her! – and says that everyone's calling her bad names and you say they're scared of her?! They're not scared of her! My daughter's scared of them!"_

 _Lori curled up into a ball on the chair, bringing her knees to her chest, as her mother's voice became increasingly hysterical. Shame and guilt whirled around inside of her. She felt like she might puke._

 _Just like her older twin, Lori had never been one to enjoy attention on her. The sisters had that similarity in personality as well, always shying away from the spotlight. They had never thrived under attention. The fact that this was all negative attention made it even worse._

" _Are you saying my daughter's a liar?! I didn't come here for this! I came to get an apology for my daughter! You have been doing nothing to help her and are instead, trying to shove all this under the rug!"_

 _Lori bit back a whimper, curling in on herself even further. She covered her ears with her hands, muffling the raised voices coming from behind the door._

 _She was the cause of all this commotion._

 _It was all her fault._

 _She shouldn't have tru-_

The car suddenly jerked to a stop, causing Lori to hit her head on the door.

She reflexively looked in front to see what had happened. Instead, she found herself meeting Edward's eyes in the rear-view mirror. His gaze was so strangely sympathetic, maybe even comforting, that she had difficulty looking away.

Their stare-off was broken when his gaze flicked away to Bella, who was directing another question to him. Lori shuddered in horror at the realisation that they had been staring at each other. What was she thinking? Prolonged eye contact with Edstupido?

She was definitely not 'bonding' with any of the Cullens until she had made a decision. Nope, no way. She didn't want any influence from her emotions.

Seeing that the reason why Edward had stopped the car was that they had arrived, Lori quickly gathered her things and jumped out of the car, not wanting to stay in the Volvo any longer.

* * *

Lounging on her window seat, Lori had only relaxed for a moment before she heard the loud thumps of footsteps on the stairs and her sister came storming in.

She jolted upright in shock, quirking an eyebrow at the heaving chest of Bella and the angry blush she was sporting as she stood in the doorway. "Why is it that the two of you can never seem to stop arguing?"

All thoughts of her dilemma were shoved to the back of her mind for the moment. She was focusing on Bella first despite the fact that her body was aching and her tortured mind really wanted to take a nap.

Bella raised an eyebrow too, both sisters looking uncannily similar with the exact same expression. She huffed, plopping herself face-down on the bed. Her voice came out muffled. "I could ask you the same question. Why are boys so, so-ugh?"

Lori tossed a cushion at the other brunette's head. "Stop waffling and tell me what he's done now."

"He keeps treating me like a baby!" She whined, pounding a fist into the duvet. "I invited him – as a _friendly_ invitation – to the beach but he said he was going camping with Emmett tomorrow and over the weekend and can you believe it, he told me to try to not fall into the ocean or get run over by a car?!"

Blue eyes crinkling, Lori laughed outright in Bella's face. "Why not? Let me guess, he called you a walking disaster?"

"Close." Bella grumbled into the cushion. "He said I attracted accidents like a magnet."

This was one thing Lori didn't mind agreeing with Edward on. Bella was the exact definition of a danger magnet. Blue eyes sparkling with mirth, Lori smirked. "Bells, give me one reason why you think you're not a danger magnet."

The brown-eyed brunette sat up, staring pleadingly at her sister. "I know I'm clumsy, but it's not _that_ bad, right? I mean, fall into the ocean? Get run over by a car?"

"Have you forgotten the van incident with Tyler?" Lori asked incredulously, flinging another cushion in the brunette's direction. "Nearly get run over by van, yes, we did."

The cushion bounced off the older twin's head with pinpoint accuracy but the only response was a long, drawn-out groan.

"You're going, right? To La Push?" Bella shifted, peeking out at her younger twin. "You won't leave me alone with Mike and the rest? I mean, we're friends but I-"

"Thank Tiffany." Lori remarked dryly. "I wasn't intending on going, but she gave me a huge guilt trip about how cruel it would be to force her to stay indoors with me when we could be going out and sightseeing."

"Oh.." Her expression didn't improve at all.

"We'll stick together." Lori added, well aware of her sister's comfort level with their schoolmates. "The three of us."

A shy smile conveyed her gratefulness to her twin, before it morphed into a smirk. "I can't wait to see how Charlie reacts to Tiffany's personality." Bella snickered. Having hung out with Tiffany before, she was well aware of the other girl's boisterous behaviour.

"Wow, that is one evil smile on you, sister." The blue-eyed twin waggled her eyebrows obnoxiously, drawing a peal of laughter from both Swans.

Well, with Tiffany around, it would be like a hurricane blowing through their house continuously for two weeks.

Charlie would definitely be out of his depth. Again.

As much as it was awkwardly painful to watch Charlie flounder in his clumsy social attempts, Lori couldn't deny she wasn't looking forward to it.

* * *

It was during the ungodly hours of the morning, that a figure quietly slipped out of the Swan residence.

Picking her way through the moonlit path, Lori went deeper into the forest behind their house. If she remembered correctly, this was the way to the small clearing she had found years ago, on one of her visits to Forks when both Bella and her were young. She had gone gallivanting into the woods, chasing after a squirrel, and stumbled upon it.

Lori paused to try to get a better look at her surroundings. It had been years, and the memories of the path had become even hazier in the dark.

It had been her safe haven. A place for her to be alone, away from prying eyes and expectations. A place where she had nothing to hide. A place where she didn't have to hide anything.

Now, she was going back there, so she could be free to be herself.

Whether it was because of the fear of hurting another person, or the fear of exposing herself, the encounter today with Lauren had really shaken Lori up. To think that her control over her powers had grown so unstable, it horrified her to the very core.

She cursed under her breath as the branch she had been bending away from her path slipped out of her grip and snapped back to whack her in the back of her head. It felt like Forks seriously brought out the clumsy in her.

Nevertheless, Lori eventually found her way to the small clearing without anymore mishaps.

A circle of trees surrounded the grassy meadow dotted here and there with small clumps of flowers. Some colourful, others white daisies and fluffy dandelions. It had grown even more beautiful, serene in a natural and untouched way, since the last time.

It was an isolated piece of the world, just hers and hers alone.

The sky was still dark.

There was maybe, one or two hours for her to practice before going back to catch a few winks, Lori calculated in her head as she started juggling a few fallen branches absentmindedly. Otherwise, she'd be a zombie when it was time to concentrate in school.

By the time she was satisfied with her level of control – moving the branches of different sizes and weights in all directions and even doing a few somersaults – the sky was turning bright, the clearing becoming better lit with the sunlight.

Her body was trembling, her sweat-soaked shirt sticking uncomfortably to her body, and she was pretty sure she was walking like a new-born fawn at the moment, but she couldn't be feeling anymore thrilled than she did right now. Her limbs were all jelly but her heart was soaring. The feeling of being so _free_ just warmed her heart.

It was similar to the exhausted but refreshed feeling after a hard workout, like the feeling of winning a competition after months of backbreaking training.

It was the pride of accomplishment that curved her lips up.

She took time to twirl around leisurely in the clearing, throwing her hands out and feeling the wind against her skin, just basking in this feeling that made her heart full. She hadn't felt this comfortable in her own skin for the longest time ever.

And as Lori admired the sight of the rays of sunlight peeking through the canopy, she finally made a decision.

* * *

 _A/N: I'd love any feedback from you guys, constructive criticism is very much welcomed!_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Here's the update!_

* * *

 **-CHAPTER 6-**

" _It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."_

 _-Ralph Waldo Emerson_

* * *

Charlie sometimes wondered why his personality was that of a gruff man more comfortable with actions, and not even all the time was he alright with doing said actions, than words. Certainly, his parents leant more towards the silent side rather than the loud boisterous type like Renee's were, but still, they had no qualms voicing their opinions whenever they wanted.

How did his taciturn personality come about? Why was it that his personality made anything involving sharing his thoughts so frustratingly awkward and uncomfortable except for work-related matters? Any attempt to mingle or socialise was like trying to wring blood from a stone for him.

He supposed living for most of his life in a small town like Forks, that had limited numbers of people to converse with, didn't help much. Fortunately, over the years, the extent of his social awkwardness had lessened (albeit, slightly) and his job as the Police Chief didn't require much friendliness anyway.

However, for the first time in _years_ , Charlie once again found himself cursing his lack of social flexibility and adaptability. And he found himself doing something else he hadn't done in years too.

Begging.

Glancing at his watch, he barely suppressed a long suffering groan. He had at least, enough composure to still maintain his manners in the presence of a guest in his house.

He was stunned. Dumbfounded. Bamboozled. Any word that signified his brain was no longer functioning at full capacity.

He _begged_ for his daughters to quickly come home from school so he could leave. Countless times, his attempts to escape via excuse of having to work – he didn't, he had requested leave for the afternoon – were shot down mercilessly and denied. Well and truly trapped, Charlie was.

Another furtive glance at his watch.

Only another fifteen minutes, and he would be free.

The familiar rattling groan of the truck he bought off of Billy reached his ears and his fingers twitched in anticipation. He watched silently as the guest flounced towards the door.

He resisted the urge to slink up the stairs the moment her back turned. That wasn't really the expected behaviour of a father, was it? Nor was it suitable for a Police Chief to run off with his tail between his legs due to a teenage girl.

No, he had to stay around for this debacle.

It was his duty as a father and the host.

The door flew open with a bang and what ensued was a chaos of shrill yelps, even shriller screams from the trio of girls and finally, a resounding thump followed by groans.

Charlie's fingers twitched towards his coffee mug.

* * *

The two sisters had only just trod onto the steps leading to the door when the door burst open, nearly whacking Bella's hand as she reached for the doorknob.

"Yoohoo people!" There was a yell and what felt like a hurricane crashed into the two of them. For a moment, all Lori could see was a mess of blonde as she got yanked into an uncomfortable group hug.

A strangled squeak escaped Lori as the thin bands of steel around her neck tightened and tilted her into a position too weird to keep her balance. There was a moment of struggling, along with yelps as pointed elbows jabbed into soft flesh before they finally fell onto the floor, narrowly managing to make it past the threshold.

Lori heaved herself out of the flailing mess of limbs, ears ringing from the panicked shrieks as they had fallen, tugging up the other unsteady brunette as she stood.

Barely a minute with Tiffany in their lives, and it was already a whirlwind.

Lori stifled a laugh at the sight of her father's face the moment they walked into the kitchen. Accompanying Tiffany had to have been exceptionally taxing for him to be showing such an fascinating mix of emotions so openly. "Thanks for picking her up, dad." She threw him an appreciative smile.

Bella ogled the kettle of coffee Charlie was steadfastly holding onto. "Charlie, you said too much caffeine makes you feel bloated..?"

"Needed it." He gruffly muttered.

"I must have tired him out." Tiffany laughed sheepishly, fully aware of the man's inability to socialise for long but unable to curb her exuberance.

"Oh yeah, Dad, were you awake early this morning?"

"Not any earlier than usual, why?" He frowned.

"Nothing much, I guess. I just felt like I was being watched.." She trailed off, the uneasy feeling that had nagged her earlier now back in full force.

His questioning frown immediately deepened. "Were you out on one of your walks again?" Charlie levelled a stern glare at his youngest daughter. "I thought I told you that the woods are unsafe. There's been more animal attacks lately, a huge bear maybe."

For one fleeting moment, Lori entertained the thought of whether she would come out the winner in a fight against a bear. She supposed it might actually be fun, kind of.

"I think I could win." The thought unconsciously escaped her lips.

Bella snorted. "You? What can you do? It'd probably squash you in one hit."

Or it'd make her more of a freak. Yeah.

She inwardly winced at the image. _Hey, I'm the girl who knocked out a bear with my mind!_ It probably wouldn't go well.

"Joking." She quickly mustered up a laugh. "Just joking."

"I don't know, Lori could probably scare away the bear away with one glare." Tiffany laughed. "She has one grumpy stare."

Lori sent her an appreciative smile, thankful she had tried to lift her spirits. Tiffany wasn't in the know about her powers but she had enough intuition to sense that Bella's offhand remark had hurt her feelings.

Charlie stood up, finally relinquishing his hold on the coffee kettle. "Don't go out into the woods anymore, Lori, until we're sure it's safe again." Turning to Tiffany, his lips turned up in a weird grimace before dropping down flat again as though he was trying to force out a polite smile and then thinking better of it. He gave her a stiff nod instead. "Hope you enjoy your stay here."

"Sure thing, Chief Swan!" Her hand snapped up, saluting his back as the man left the house.

"Bells, you alright?" Lori tilted her head at her sister. "You look like you're thinking pretty hard.."

"Constipa-Ow!" Tiffany's indignant squeal at Lori's jab in her ribs went ignored by the sisters. "It was a legit question!"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just.."

"Did something happen?" She stared Bella down with a quirked eyebrow, practically daring her to try and hide any offenders from her.

"Well," Bella reluctantly started, unwilling to seem like a tattle tale to her younger sister of all people. It'd make her look so _spoiled_. "Lauren was saying something at lunch today, but I don't remember doing anything for her to not like me? She was shooting me some pretty unfriendly looks too.."

" _What did she say?_ "

Lost in her thoughts, Bella didn't notice the glacier-like quality Lori's eyes had taken on nor did she pay much attention to the clenched fist on the table. "Nothing much, I was walking behind her and accidentally heard what she was saying."

"Yeah, so what did she say?" Lori bit out, ignoring Tiffany's inquisitive eyes burning into her head.

"Something about us, and the Cullens.. How she didn't understand why I didn't just sit with the Cullens when you were sitting with them today."

Bella's expression pinched together, visibly upset and confused at Lauren's malice towards her.

However, Lori wasn't actually quite surprised that Lauren had resorted to trash talking in a passive-aggressive way.

Firstly, Lauren seemed like the type to be unable to do anything without the support of her lackies. And also, not in public, where she could get backlash from others. She needed to seem like she was popular because people liked her and not because she was violently bullying her competitors.

Maybe she really was that insecure about her position as queen bee.

Despite what reasons Lauren may have, Lori still felt anger rise up in her. So going after her the other day wasn't enough, now she was moving in on Bella too? She didn't really mind Lauren's attack on herself, it had kind of helped her in some way to make a decision over the Cullens and stop overthinking. There weren't any lasting wounds, except maybe that – her fingers unconsciously drifted up to brush lightly against the gauze patch on her cheek – but it was already well on its way to healing.

She didn't particularly mind, but going after her sister was another matter altogether. Looks like she'd have to do something if Lauren continued..

She gasped as Tiffany's return jab roughly impacted her side.

"Stop it. You're freaking me out with that weird smirk." Tiffany narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What are you planning?"

"What?" Bella glanced between the other two girls exchanging knowing looks, slightly uneasy at the thought the two were such close friends that it looked like they could communicate without words.

"Nothing, nothing." Lori waved Bella's questions away. "Anyway, the plan for tomorrow is that we're going to the beach?"

Tiffany questioned. "The La something?"

Lori snickered at the twinkle in her friend's eyes. "It's La Push, and no you can't wear your bikini unless you want to freeze to death. It's sunnier there but the wind will be cold."

At the mention of La Push, Bella's expression soured again.

"What's wrong with her?" Tiffany whispered, pout from being unable to wear her favourite swimsuit melting away. "She's even moodier than usual."

Lori frowned, displeased at the near-obsession her sister had for the bronze-haired Cullen. She didn't get to talk to Emmett either today, although she had managed to reconcile with Alice, but she wasn't moping around like Bella was. She hoped Bella wouldn't let her life revolve around a guy instead of herself. "She invited a guy along, but he wasn't free. He's going hiking with his brother, Emmett."

"Oh, that guy you made _friends_ with?" Tiffany waggled her eyebrows exaggeratedly. "Dish out the dirt, Swan twins. Crushes and all, I want to hear _everything_."

Bella blushed. "C-crush?! T-there's nothing.. I-it's just-"

"I'm never telling you anything again. The next email you get will just be one sentence. ' _Hi, I'm alive_.'"

* * *

"You're always such a terror in the morning when you sleep late." Tiffany pouted, rubbing the tender spot on her thigh where Lori had kicked her when she was trying to drag her out of bed.

Lori, with her mind finally functioning properly after downing a cup of coffee, could only offer an apology and a sheepish laugh. "You're the one who wouldn't stop talking though, so it's technically your fault that we slept late."

" _It's sunny, why is it so sunny? Ugh._ " Tiffany groaned, imitating the sleepy blue-eyed brunette earlier that morning in retaliation.

"Stop it!" Lori yelped in embarrassment, accurately dealing a hard whack to the same sore spot.

"Ow! Is this what I get for being a good best friend?!"

Bella pretended that she was sitting alone in the kitchen, ignoring the two squabbling girls in front of her and choosing to admire the blue skies that she wasn't sure was going to last for long.

Even with the endless bickering, the two girls were soon back to being best buds, belting out songs as Bella drove to the arranged meeting point. They had all agreed to meet up at Mike's father's shop in order to carpool.

Mike had said that it'd be good because they could save petrol fees but honestly, Lori thought it was just because he wanted to sit next to Bella in the same car and somehow impress her by his impeccable driving skills.

Boys.

She would never understand the male need for posturing.

Nor their fast and fleeting attraction for the new girls. Lori pulled a face at Tiffany, catching the wide-eyed glances the boys were shooting her blonde friend.

Speaking of blondes, Lori carefully eyed Lauren standing with Angela and Jessica on the other side. Angela was a downright angel and Lori had always wondered how she became friends with someone as scathing as Lauren. Jessica was pretty alright too, compared to Lauren, but she'd have to keep an eye on those two. If they even tried to maybe push Bella into the ocean or something, they'd have a reckoning coming.

For now, Lori just let Tiffany and herself be shuffled into Mike's suburban because of Bella's pleading eyes of _don'tleavemealonedon'tleavemealonesaveme_ , and found the two of them squished into the backseat with a couple others. Lucky Bella managed to snag the window seat.

Halfway through the fifteen-mile ride, Tiffany, who was stuck in the middle between Lori and a leering guy Lori vaguely recognised from one of her classes, was nearly begging. "Open the window! Open it!" It was almost summer in the suburban with nine of them packed in such close proximity with all their coats on in an eight-seater vehicle despite the cool air outside.

Soon enough, the gorgeous deep green forests gave way to waves dark grey even in the sunlight bordered on one side by the dark grey stone of the cliff side. Similarly, the breeze coming in through the window started smelling of salt instead of the woody grass.

Lori bit back an amused smile as Tiffany stumbled out of the car, looking like she'd gladly kiss the ground. "Air!" She gasped. "Beach! Yay, we're here.."

Lori quickly propped the blonde up, following after the others as they made their way down over rocks and huge driftwood trees to the beach. In the distance, Lori saw a ring of driftwood logs arranged around a blackened spot in the middle that was probably the site for many gatherings over the years. "Say 'hello' to First Beach, Tiff."

"Hello, First Beach. You're freaking cold." Tiffany shivered, arms hugging herself.

"Aren't you glad you listened to me and left your bikini behind?" Lori said dryly as her and Bella helped Eric pick up the surrounding twigs and sticks for a fire. The other girls only parked their behinds on the trees straight away, gossiping excitedly in hushed voices about the hot locals on the beach.

"Hey, Bella, have you ever seen a driftwood fire? Let me show you how to make one, yeah?" Mike cut in eagerly, accidentally shoving Lori to the side a little.

 _Boys_.

Lori and Tiffany shared an eye roll, throwing their sticks into the tepee-shaped pile the others had constructed.

Mike's enthusiastic voice could still be heard above the other conversations, trying hard to seem interesting to Bella. Lori could have cringed at way he was overdoing his explanations. Something about the way the fire was blue because of the salt.

When that boy from the car ride – Lori still couldn't exactly remember his name – sidled up to them on the same log bench, flinging his head back in a hair flip he probably thought looked cool but really just made it seem like he was going to break his neck, Lori quickly cut him down, unable to tolerate the desperate behaviour of teenage boys any longer. "No."

"B-but-"

"Yeah, no. Shoo. Now." She didn't even look at him while waving him away.

"Hey," His face started to blush in anger or embarrassment. She didn't know, and didn't particularly care. "Let the lady speak for herself!"

"I just didn't really want to speak to you, Mr Trying-to-peek-down-my-shirt." Tiffany bit out. "Now _go away._ "

"He was _what_?!" Lori hissed angrily to Tiffany before immediately turning on him. "You were _what_?!"

Thick-skinned, the boy didn't immediately scurry away but lowered his eyes to blatantly stare at Tiffany's chest again with a smirk. "Just trying to figure how big your rack really is. You've got a great one, by the way." He paired it with a wink.

"Oh my god! You jerk!" Tiffany huffed, throwing her hands up in air as she stalked away to the other side of the fire that was beginning to blaze.

"Stay away from her," Lori snapped. "Or I'll make sure you'll never be able to get it up again." She shot him a chilling glare as she joined Tiffany, tugging Bella along and saving her from Jessica's glares as she went. If Mike continued talking to Bella, Jessica's stares might really just burn holes into Bella's coat.

Lori was incredulous beyond belief. "Do guys really think they can pick up girls like that?"

In contrast, Tiffany was sullen, burying her face in her hands.

"Lori!" She moaned. "Is there something wrong with me? Why do I only attract these kinds of two-timing jerks and perverted creeps?

"Maybe you should go for the natives here.." Lori suggested, trailing off as she eyed a trio of long-haired Quileutes shoving each other around playfully. She recognised the figure of the one in the middle, Jacob Black, from the day he and his father came over to deliver the truck.

"Jacob! Hey, Jake!" She stood up and hollered, startling her schoolmates at the sudden shout. Waving her arms in big motions, she beckoned him over.

"What are you doing?" Tiffany hissed in her ear. "He's the younger dude with a crush on Bella, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but he's got friends." She grinned impishly. "Someone like him with a good personality ought to have some nice older friends, don't you think?"

Tiffany made to retort but quickly clamped her mouth shut as he drew nearer. A taller, stockier man looking about twenty-five followed behind slowly. Lori guessed he was the chaperone or guardian of sorts, when local kids were mingling with strangers.

"Hey, Swans. How's the truck?" He gave Lori a ruffle of her hair and a slight shy smile to the brown-eyed brunette, along with a wave to Tiffany sitting by them when Lori introduced her.

"Good enough for a passenger." Lori laughed. "You'll have to ask the driver."

"It runs great." Bella agreed.

"Yeah, but isn't it slow? Don't tell Charlie but I was really glad he took it off my hands because my dad wouldn't let me start work on another car when there was a perfectly fine vehicle there."

"It's great for collisions." Bella couldn't help teasing back with a grin, feeling a little more bold at the way he was looking at her. She was starting to notice these looks for what they were more often now, after experiencing all the attention of the Forks males.

"Bella, Lori, you guys know each other?" Lauren piped up from across the fire.

Lori observed the calculating expression on her face, already annoyed at the way she was subtly trying to angle for something. "Yeah. What's it to you?"

Lauren's attention immediately snapped to her and the two ended up engaging in a staring war.

"We've known each other since young." Jacob offered with a laugh, trying to diffuse the tension though a little bewildered at the curt reply from the usually friendly brunette.

"How nice." Lauren drawled out, narrowed eyes still firmly fixed on Lori, lips slowly curling up into a mocking smile. "I was just saying how it was too bad none of the Cullens could make it. Didn't you invite your friend, Bella?"

 _Or has he already dumped you again?_ Was the unspoken question behind that.

Lori growled under her breath. She couldn't believe the nerve of that girl, sitting there feeling so smug about herself.

"Cullens? As in Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" The tall built man hovering behind Jacob spoke up, brows furrowed sternly.

"Yes, do you know them?" Lauren sniffed, as though the man was somehow beneath her. Lori briefly imagined the man crushing her to death in one of his hands. His physique definitely gave the impression that that was possible.

"They don't come here." He completely ignored her question and crossed his arms, muscles rippling under the t-shirt he was wearing.

Lori ignored the weird fidgeting that came from Bella, instead admiring the man's attitude in dealing with Lauren's snobbishness. She quickly nudged Tiffany discreetly and throwing suggestive glances to the man once she got her friend's attention.

"What? No!" Tiffany mouthed back. "I-"

"Do you want to walk down the beach with me?" Bella suddenly stood up, turning to face Jacob.

Lori gaped at the way Bella was fluttering her lashes at their childhood friend. Who was this girl and what had she done to her sister? Lori couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Bella had apparently thrown Edward Cullen away all of a sudden and was currently trying to flirt with Jacob Black.

"Bells, what are-"

The poor guy obviously couldn't handle the sudden moves from the girl he was crushing on and crumbled instantly. "Y-yeah, sure!"

At this point, Tiffany, fed up with Lori's insistent pushing and desperate for escape from the perverted boy that was slowly inching closer again, followed Bella's method by latching onto the most intimidating male there in hopes of scaring him off. "Hey, why don't you walk with me?" She laughed nervously, batting her eyelashes at him too. "Give me a tour?"

The man looked like he wanted to refuse, but grudgingly obliged when Tiffany jumped up and grabbed onto his arm.

The frantic glint in Tiffany's eyes was obvious, and it wasn't the _I-want-to-jump-your-bones_ type of desperate but more of the _save-me-oh-god-please-save-me_ type that helped Sam make his decision to agree.

Suddenly, as the two pairs left, and not even fully understanding how or why, Lori was sitting alone on the log abandoned by her sister and friend.

Warily eyeing the perverted boy that looked like he was debating whether to approach her despite her cold brush off earlier, Lori buried her face in her hands, seriously regretting the decision to join this trip.

* * *

It wasn't until later that Lori realised just how much she should have tried harder to stop Bella from going off with Jacob.

And no, it wasn't because of how persistent the perverted guy was in trying to ogle her chest despite all the layers she was bundled up in and the chilling glares she shot his way.

A few minutes ago, Bella had barged into her room, quietly shaking her awake and then towing Lori to her room at the ungodly hours of the morning. Lori had been an inch away from falling on Tiffany's face when she stumbled after her twin in her half-awake state.

Now, she was stuck listening to Bella go off in a rant about how she was right that there was something wrong with the Cullen family. Lori had noticed the expression on Bella's face the whole way back, the slight press of her lips together that meant she was thinking hard about something, but Bella hadn't spoken up and Lori simply assumed that maybe Jacob had finally worked up the nerve to confess and Bella was working herself up on how to reply.

Alas, that wasn't the case.

Apparently, Jacob had shared with Bella their folk tale of wolf shapeshifters and cold ones – whatever that was – and now Bella believed that the tale was coming to life.

"This is what you went and flirted with Jake for? Bells, you're my sister and you know I'm on your side, but leading poor Jake on? That's not nice. For God's sake, the guy has a puppy crush on you!"

"Yeah, _puppy_ crush. He'll get over it. This is way more important right now."

Lori couldn't get her head to wrap around it all, whether it was because of how tired she was or the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Folk tales were folk tales for a reason, after all. It was myth. Perhaps it was fact before, until years of being passed down orally twisted it into something of a cliched fantasy story designed to scare children into listening to their parents.

She was just about to nod off when a word caught her attention.

"Wait, you can't be telling me you believe the Cullens are vampires?" Lori snorted. "Seriously?"

Bella raised an eyebrow, looking mightily unimpressed.

"I'm not making fun of you, but seriously? I can't believe you woke me up in the middle of the night for this."

"This is serious, Lori." Bella stressed. "I thought it was stupid too but it all makes sense now! The dent in Tyler's truck! Him getting away without any injuries! This is the reason why Edward has been so weird with me! Telling me he wants to be friends and then ignoring me, saying its better if I stayed away from him because he's dangerous. All the mixed signals and-"

Lori heaved a sigh. "This is about Edward again?"

Bella stilled her pacing at that, somewhat sensing that Lori was not dismissing her anymore. It was the first time she had heard her sister ever say his name properly. "I know I seem obsessed or something, but-" She worked her jaw for a second before looking like she gave up. "I just can't stop. I _can't_ stay away."

 _From him, or from discovering his secret?_ Lori thought to herself.

"Bella," Lori paused for a moment. "I know there's something off with the Cullens, you'd have to be a fool to not notice it, but don't you think you should respect their privacy? What does going behind their back to find out all their secrets help?"

Bella lifted her chin stubbornly. "I want to know. I just need to know about Edward."

"You're forcing his hand." She frowned, the disapproval clear. "If he wanted you to know, he'd tell you himself."

"But I-" A glimmer appeared in Bella's eyes. "He wants me to find out!"

"What?"

"He wants me to find out!" Bella rounded on her sister, face suddenly more alive than Lori could recall seeing before. "That's why he's been giving these clues, staying away and then coming back. He can't tell me, so he wants me to guess it!"

Lori wondered if her sister knew what she was saying. It sounded like she was making Edward out to be an pre-puberty boy in denial over the girl he liked and resorted to bullying her.

"That's quite a far leap, don't-"

"I've got to do more research!" Bella rushed out a _good night, thanks, Lori_ at her as she ushered Lori out of her room and closed the door all within seconds.

A little stunned at being abruptly kicked out of the room after being dragged there, Lori stood there staring blankly at the door in her face for a moment. Taking in a deep breath, Lori slowly processed what had just happened.

There was a sinking feeling in her gut.

It felt like it was only the calm before the storm.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Double update to make up for my long absence! Read Ch 6 if you haven't!_

 _I only scanned through the chapters so let me know if there are errors!_

* * *

 **-CHAPTER 7-**

" _I will find my way_ _,_ _I can go the distance_ _  
_ _I'll be there someday_ _if I can be strong_ _  
_ _I know every mile_ _w_ _ill be worth my while_ _  
_ _I would go most anywhere_ _t_ _o feel like I belong."_

\- _Hercules "Go The Distance"_

* * *

Lori jolted up in bed, breathing heavily.

It took a moment for her to realise that she was still in her bed at home. Heart still pounding heavily, she threw off her blankets. The weight over her legs was starting to become suffocating, making her feel trapped.

The longer she sat there in the darkness, the more the remaining vestiges of terror faded away. The snippets of her nightmare were quickly slipping away as well, further and further from her reach, no matter how much she tried to grasp at it.

Soon enough, she could hardly remember much else except the flashing of teeth and the vague feeling of being chased. A shudder went down her spine and suddenly, all the shadows in her room looked terrifying. Goose pimples broke out over her skin. She stumbled out of bed to turn on the lights.

Rubbing her hands down her arms, Lori fled into the bathroom. Staring at her bloodshot eyes in the mirror, she felt like laughing at herself. How could Bella's theory have shaken her up so much? She still couldn't believe that vampires existed, and in such close proximity.

Though, _she_ existed. Someone with weird powers to move things with her mind. She eyed the toothbrushes twirling and dancing in the air.

Could it be? Vampires were real?

Wouldn't it be all over the news if people were dying, drained of blood or something? What were the Cullens eat-drinking, _drinking_ , if they really were vampires?

She gasped, eyes widening. That's why Carlisle Cullen worked at the hospital! To steal blood bags! What better way than to sneak off hospital supplies with everyone none the wiser?

No, wait. She frowned. It was practically impossible. A vampire working at the hospital with so many patients and such a high chance of having fresh blood around?

Stop. Stop. She was overthinking again. No matter how many conjectures she made, she would never know exactly which one was the truth.

Lori gripped the sink tightly, exhaling roughly. How many times was her world going to turn itself upside down? Telekinesis first and now, supernatural fantasy creatures of the night?

She'd just have to play it by ear. She'd keep this theory on mind, and watch out for signs, if any, that it was true. If it turned out to be real, she'd.. she'd think about it when it happened.

Lori groaned.

Everything would remain the same if she continued hiding. But the thing was, she didn't want to remain the same. Her mind flashed back to that night in the forest, the exhilarating feeling of being free and not having to constantly be on her toes.

She had to stop living in a bubble in danger of popping any second.

She had to strike before she was struck. No more being weak. No more wishy-washy.

And maybe, just maybe, the emotional part of her said, finally disclosing her secret could lift the constant pressure on her shoulders. Emmett could be the one to understand her. He might not run away from her even after he knew about her powers.

She'd tell him. She'd tell him and then ask if he was a vampire. Lori nearly snorted despite herself. It sounded ridiculous even in her head.

If all else failed, she'd blackmail him. He could mock her – unlikely but still possible, no harm in preparing for the worst case scenario – but she wouldn't allow him to make trouble for her family.

"I'll march up to him. I'll go right up to him and tell him my secret." She stared at herself in the mirror, almost daring herself to try and back out. "I will." Lori repeated, desperately shoving down the nausea at the thought.

* * *

It was terribly anticlimactic.

All that time spent in front of the mirror psyching herself up and the target didn't even show up.

The first effort she made to change for the better and it was all for nothing.

Zip, zilch, nada.

She shouldn't have tried, Lori thought bitterly.

"The Cullens aren't here." Bella had hissed into her ear the moment they stepped into the cafeteria for lunch, disappointment clouding her face.

Lori merely grunted at her, slouching over in her chair at their table.

She had been on tenterhooks all morning, sitting so stiff and rigid in her chair that a few teachers had asked her if something was the matter. All morning, she waited for Alice to appear during class and when she didn't, Lori waited some more for Emmett to pop up magically like he always did in the corridors between classes.

It was only when she passed by a gaggle of girls lamenting over being unable to ogle the Cullens, inadvertently dropping the reason that Dr. Cullen had pulled their kids out for camping that she finally realised none of the Cullens would be coming to school today.

She felt somewhat cheated.

"What's wrong with the Swan twins? Did they have a fight again?" Mike asked. He had been trying to whisper but everyone at the table heard it as clear as day anyway.

There was a thump and a yelp, some scuffling before the table quietened once more.

"Lori, Bella, are you two alright?"

The genuine worry in Angela's voice made Lori shift, tilting her head to look at her. "Just tired." She mumbled. "And no, we're not fighting."

She chuckled, finally sitting upright, when Angela looked like she was debating whether Lori had been truthful or just sugar-coating the issue. "Really, we're not."

"Yeah." Bella snapped out from staring into space, though there was still an air of dejection about her.

"Alright," Angela started hesitantly, "Well, we asked Bella earlier but do you want to go with us to Port Angeles tonight to shop for the dance?"

"Yeah, I'm going." Bella agreed distractedly, mind still fixed on the Cullens' absence.

"She's not even going to the dance, why would she need to come along?" Lauren bit out.

"Lauren!" Angela scolded. "It would be nice to have more company!"

Jessica threw out a comment as well. "Lori _does_ have good fashion sense. Killer boots, at least."

"Thanks, Angela, Jessica, I'll go." She grinned. "Someone needs to make sure Lauren don't turn up looking like an elephant stuffed into a dress too tight after all."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Lauren snarled.

"That there's no way I'd be able to keep my head down when my friends make.. terrible fashion choices." Lori eyed her up and down. "I'd be happy to help you in your time of need, as friends do. You're welcome."

"My fashion?! My fash-" She was nearly spitting fire. "You!"

"You're the best?" Lori smirked, batting a hand at her playfully. "Aw shucks, no need for that. You'll make me shy."

Nothing like baiting the baiter to lighten her mood.

And if there was some slight vindictive satisfaction over making Lauren speechless from anger, well.. Lori'd be damned if she continued letting Lauren think she could intimidate her.

She had been caught off guard, swamped by traumatic memories stemming from an unfortunate coincidental choice of words the last time.

Not again. Never again.

No matter what, Lori would never become a pushover.

She wouldn't let herself.

* * *

"They went camping." Lori responded to Bella's downcast face when they met in the corridor after school.

Clearly, Bella's hopes had been dashed during Biology class. Edward never turned up.

"They'll be back. Maybe tomorrow?" Lori tried, but her sister's expression was equally as gloomy.

Left with no other choice, Lori thumped her hard on the back, getting her moving towards the parking lot. "Lighten up! We have other things to worry about other than them for today!"

She slung her arm over Bella's shoulders, bringing their heads in close together. "Speaking of which, why'd you agree to go? You don't like shopping. You _abhor_ shopping."

"A girls night out would be nice." Bella started, and elaborated more at the dubious look Lori gave her. "I needed something to distract me."

"Good idea. I need that too. A fun night with no boy troubles."

Lori's smile dimmed at the sight of only two brunette heads waiting at the parking lot. "Lauren isn't here?"

"Something suddenly came up," Angela said, exchanging a look with Jessica.

"Shame, but no worries. What's the plan?" Lori nearly bounced on the spot. She hadn't been shopping ever since they arrived in Forks.

After a little discussion, they decided on taking Jessica's car to Port Angeles. Bella was afraid the truck would give out halfway through the journey.

They'd gone back to the Swan residence to dump the truck and their school bags and then they were off towards the highway. A few hours of cringy singing along to the songs on radio later, they arrived at Port Angeles.

Experienced, Jessica and Angela beelined straight for the biggest departmental store while the Swan twins were left lagging behind. The two took in the scenery of the picturesque boardwalk while making sure not to lose sight of the other girls. Though smaller than Phoenix, Port Angeles was still a tourist spot with beautiful scenery.

"You're not trying any?" Angela asked Lori, when Lori kept pointing out dresses for them while her own hands remained empty.

"I'm not going." Lori tilted her head. "Didn't I tell you?"

"If you're trying to spare someone's feelings or keep a secret, forget it." Jessica rolled her eyes. "The whole school already knows."

"Knows what?" Lori looked at Jessica like she'd just spoken an alien language.

"You're going to the dance with Tyler." Jessica dragged out the words as though speaking to a baby. "He's been telling everyone who would listen."

Lori facepalmed. "I am _not_ going to the dance. If I was going, it wouldn't be with him anyway."

"I told you it wasn't true." Angela at least tried to look sympathetic to Lori's plight.

Bella snickered amusedly, "I could run him over with the truck. Then, maybe he'd get over his guilt and call it even?"

"Please do." Lori gave a long-suffering groan.

"Sure, if that was the reason why he was doing it." Jessica snorted and moved off to tackle the first rack of clothes.

Somehow, while moving through the shop, she had drifted away from Angela and Bella and ended up with Jessica. It was mostly silent, except for a few suggestions of _try this one, try that one_ from Lori.

"You know, you're actually not as bad as I thought." Jessica said offhandedly, not looking up from the dress she was currently perusing.

She did it so casually that for a moment, Lori wasn't sure if Jessica had said something.

"Thanks?"

"Lauren has some beef with you. She thinks that you're out to steal all her popularity. All the guys have been flocking to you and Bella and well, you're the only one that fights back openly."

"You know I have no intention of doing that right?" Lori said incredulously. "I have seriously zero interest in those guys."

"Even worse." Jessica narrowed her eyes. "You don't even want it but they all still want you anyway. That's why she doesn't like you. Well, I didn't really like you at first either." She shrugged. "But you're not that bad."

"You're not that bad either." Lori couldn't help but smile. "If anything, I think you and Mike go well together."

"Really? You think so?" She perked up, a shy smile spreading over her lips, before her expression suddenly smoothed back into one of forced nonchalance. Jessica sniffed. "This doesn't mean we're buddies or anything."

"Alright, we're not." There was a pause. "This dress looks good."

Lori had thought before that Jessica was the same type as Lauren, but now she could see that she had been wrong. Jessica wasn't the malicious type. Sure, she could be hurtful in her blunt remarks and she definitely rubbed others the wrong way with her nosiness, but she didn't really mean any harm. She was much nicer now that she wasn't being jealous of Mike's attention on the new girls.

Lauren, on the other hand, was out to ruin anyone she deemed competition. Just what would it take for Lauren to stop bothering about her?

"I think I'm done here." Jessica gestured to the armful of dresses she held. "Let's find the others."

Lori nodded and they manoeuvred back to where Angela and Bella were staring at the accessories before moving to the dressing rooms.

Surprisingly, finding the perfect dress didn't take as much time as expected. There were a few moments of headache-inducing dilemma but both Jessica and Angela managed to get their dresses from this store without much hassle.

Since they had ended earlier than expected, Angela suggested going to the famous boardwalk for a walk until they were hungry.

However, Bella wanted to look for a bookstore instead. One had caught her attention along the walk to the departmental store. Angela had offered to go together but Bella declined. She insisted she wouldn't be much company when lost in the books and it'd be better if they went off to have fun instead.

"Let's meet at the Italian restaurant in an hour then. It's that one, right over there." Angela pointed out.

With that, they split up. Bella and Lori to look for a bookstore and Jessica and Angela to the boardwalk.

The sisters traced their steps back to the departmental store, keeping an eye out for that specific bookstore.

However, Bella was disappointed when they reached. The moment they stepped inside, they were greeted with strong perfume and a colourful display of crystals and dreamcatchers.

The books were all regarding spiritual healing and others of the same genre. It wasn't really what Bella was looking for.

"We still have some time. Let's look around for another bookstore?" Lori suggested, trying to cheer up Bella who was obviously depressed about it.

"Yeah, sure." Bella sighed, starting to walk off.

Lori yanked her sister off to the side with a tug on her arm. "Watch out! Pothole."

"Sorry," She mumbled before trudging off once again.

Lori watched her in disbelief as she bumped into a random passer-by. She wasn't even watching where she was walking. Did the bookstore make her that crestfallen?

No, it was the matter about Edward. Lori recalled Bella's words earlier about needing a distraction. She had seemed happy earlier, enjoying hanging out with the girls, but the funk had unquestionably come back full-force.

Lori frowned. She was unhappy with Bella's obsession over the Cullens, particularly Edward and his secret. He was taking over her life.

If this continued, she was afraid that there would be nothing in Bella's life except Edward.

She jogged forward, catching Bella by the arm and steering her clear of a weirdly coloured puddle on the path. She hooked her arm around Bella's. "I'll lead the way."

On second thought, it was a mistake.

Lori should never have been allowed to lead the way.

She couldn't even make her own way out of the shopping mall in Phoenix. A mall that she'd repeatedly been to. Why was she trusted to lead in a place she'd never been to?

It was a straight road back to the Italian restaurant and she'd just walked down it barely a few minutes ago. Yet, she'd managed to get them lost in a maze of small roads with hardly any traffic.

Lori stared forlornly at the walls surrounding her and Bella. She really couldn't pinpoint where or when the first wrong turn had occurred.

"That was the first sign something was wrong." Bella deadpanned. "The fact that there was a turn."

Lori smacked her shoulder. "We were looking for a bookstore! I just walked anywhere in case there was one somewhere! You should have said something if you noticed we were going the wrong way!"

"Let's just try our luck. We'll turn there and hopefully, get back to the main road. Come on." Bella quickened her footsteps. The sky was already darkening and it would soon be past the time they had agreed to meet.

They were nearing the corner when a group of males stumbled around it, rowdy and seemingly drunk.

Bella immediately nudged Lori, shuffling them towards the side and giving the men more space to pass.

One of the men leered as they moved by, directing a lewd smile at them. Another, a dark-haired man, wolf-whistled when Lori glared, yelling mockingly. "Chick's got some fire!"

Bella hurried towards the corner, tugging Lori along. She heaved a sigh of relief once they turned the corner. She didn't want to appear as if she was trying to run away but those guys gave her a bad feeling.

"Do you recognize anything?" Lori asked her quietly.

"No," Bella's eyes flickered up to the rapidly darkening sky uneasily. "Let's just walk faster."

Regardless of how much fight Lori had in her if the situation worsened, she knew it would be a bad idea. Two petite girls in a pretty much deserted area except for the shady men. It was a recipe for disaster. While Lori wouldn't go down easily, fighting tooth and nail, Bella wasn't one for physical violence. She'd go out like a light, and most probably because of her own doing. Their best bet would be to simply find their way back to the main street.

Bella stumbled over a loose rock on the street and as Lori turned to steady her, she caught sight of two men behind them. They weren't too near, but they weren't far enough for Lori to dismiss their presence. With a jolt of shock, she realised they were from that group of men before the corner.

"Don't look behind, but I think they're following us." Lori said urgently.

"What?!" Bella froze. Her arm in Lori's hold started to tremble. "Pepper spray. I've got pepper spray."

"Bells, stay calm." Lori's firm voice brought back some semblance of rational thought to her. "You have to get us to the main road. You're the only one with a sense of direction."

Bella swallowed hard. Her voice came out hoarse. "There. Let's turn there."

They continued walking at a faster than normal speed, clutching each other tightly and keeping an ear out for the sound of footsteps behind them. Unfortunately, the two sets of footsteps behind them never became fainter.

Lori felt the rising panic subside when two cars turned the corner they were heading to. It could only mean that the main street wasn't much further from there. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bella's small smile. She had come to the same conclusion too.

Lori chanced a glance behind. She noted that the two men had fallen behind. Perhaps they weren't really following them after all. Had she been paranoid? Or more likely, they'd backed off because they were reaching the main street with more people.

A burst of hope bloomed in her chest and then, immediately sank.

The two men were staring at them, expressions unreadable.

The corner was only a few metres ahead, but it took forever to reach it. Bella sped around the corner and Lori followed her, only to bump her nose into Bella's back.

Her older twin had skidded to a halt.

"What's the-" Lori didn't need to finish the question. She could see the reason why with her own eyes.

Lounging carelessly against one of the buildings halfway down the street were two other men from the same group. Their mocking grins stood out clearly. One of them pushed off the wall, barely taking a step forward before Bella was backpedalling, turning to dart back the way they had come.

The men that had been 'following' them were there. Bella paused, unsure of where to go. Her hand was gripping Lori's so tightly, it felt like the blood circulation was cut off. The men were both in front of and behind them now, slowly coming closer. It was a pincer attack.

With increasing dread, Lori had the horrible realization that they hadn't been followed. They had been herded, tricked into believing that they could escape. In reality, they were nowhere near getting away.

The main street was two or three intersections down the street. She could see it, see the brighter lit street, see the silhouettes of pedestrians and cars. Yet, it felt as if it was miles away.

"Stay away from us." Bella warned, trying to come across as confident.

The men could hear the waver in her voice though, and grinned excitedly. The look in their eyes was menacing and full of dark promises.

Lori felt a shiver go down her spine. She doubted they'd leave them alone even if they offered them all their money. Money didn't look like what they wanted.

Slowly, the men advanced until the sisters were backed into the wall with no route for escape. The men surrounded them in a half-circle.

Lori returned Bella's tight grip, holding her trembling hand firmly. She was prepared to shove her behind at a moment's notice. She had to protect her.

The dark haired one stepped forward. His hand snapped out in a flash and before she knew it, Lori was pulled forward roughly by her chin in his grasp.

"Hey!" Bella hadn't even taken a step before she was pushed back into the wall.

Lori cringed away as the man's face neared hers. She squirmed desperately, but he had her hands in one of his. He was too strong. She couldn't break free.

"Stay still," He breathed, eyes flashing dangerously. "Unless you don't value your pretty face."

A whimper slipped out when his nails dug into her skin and his predatory grin widened. "The one thing nothing can compare to. Do you know what it is, sweetheart? Watching the fire in the eyes of women like you die out when I break them."

Her powers. Her powers!

No matter how much she cried out for her telekinesis to manifest, it wouldn't respond to her call.

After Lauren, she had tightened up her control even more to prevent any lashing out when emotions were running high. The detail that the targets were lowlifes with equally low motives made no difference, the moral compass in her refused to use her powers against normal humans.

Her mind was too frenzied to even begin to control it properly. Thus, her powers wouldn't come.

Her powers wouldn't come, but she had to do something.

She could just lash out physically, instead. He had her hands, but her legs were free.

Her knee jerked up, hitting the target right where she meant to.

That was when everything devolved into chaos. There was yelling, screaming and foul curses were hurled out.

A hand curled into her hair, wrenching her away from the dark-haired one now crumpled on the floor, clutching his bits. Lori cried out as the hand twisted brutally. Bracing herself against the pain, she turned around and grabbed hold of his hair equally tight, giving a vicious pull.

"You bitch!" He snarled, spitting saliva from the corners of his mouth. The man threw her to the ground and a grunt escaped her as she landed hard on her behind.

Lori quickly clambered to her feet, preparing to fight off the next attack. There was no way she was going to remain on her back for more than was necessary and give them the chance to pounce on her.

However, the next attack never came.

A familiar silver Volvo screeched around the corner with barely any warning. It nearly ran over a few of the men, causing them to dive out of the way, before skidding to a stop a few feet away from Bella.

The passenger door flew open and a hulking figure stepped out, backlit against the blinding headlights as he moved in front of the car.

"Get in." A low voice bit out in a tone that refused any complaints.

Bella instantly scrambled into the car, slamming the door behind her. Within a blink of an eye, the Volvo sped off and was gone.

Lori was dumbfounded.

That was definitely Edward driving. She knew they weren't exactly on good terms but what was with saving Bella and ditching her?!

"Lori." A rumble, tight with suppressed emotion. "Get behind me."

She'd forgotten the one who'd gotten out of the car. Lori didn't know how she didn't recognize him at first sight.

It was Emmett.

She remembered the feeling of being in his arms, the safety and the reassurance. How he had taken care of her. The feeling like nothing could go wrong when he was around. It swept over her now and even though they weren't out of trouble yet, she found herself relaxing.

Her voice wouldn't come out, so she merely nodded. Warily eyeing the men who were starting to regroup, she followed his instructions, slowly inching behind him.

But not before she caught sight of his face, dimly lighted up by a flickering lamp post along the sidewalk.

His eyes were amber. Amber that was rapidly swirling into dark orbs. As he bared his teeth at the men, an utterly feral picture, a sinister growl sounded from him.

The first man who attacked, a glint of sharp metal in his hand, was batted aside like he was a piece of paper. He crumpled to the ground, motionless.

The men stared, speechless at the absurd show of strength. Then, the next moment, they bolted with their tails between their legs, without a second thought to their unconscious friend.

Lori could only gape, jaw dropping open.

The lack of body heat. _She had pressed her face into his shoulder that time. His sweater had been lacking any warmth._

The cold temperature of his hands. _Their fingers had brushed when he took her books, when he helped her up._

The stone-like feeling of his hands, arms, shoulders, body. _Her fingers nearly ached that day, from how hard she was gripping his shoulders._

The colour of his eyes changing. _The black so deep and dark it felt like she was looking into a bottomless abyss. The molten gold intense and full of smouldering warmth. Neither colour less striking than the other._

The way it seemed like he knew what she was saying despite being too far away. _Laughter from their table when she called Edward names. Snickering in the car behind when Tyler tried to ask her to prom._

The reflexes and strength that no human could have. _Catching the things she accidentally dropped. The limp ragdoll of a man lying at the foot of the wall._

The unmistakable truth was staring her straight in the face.

Her legs buckled, sending her to the ground once again.

"You're a vampire."

* * *

 _A/N: Ta-da!_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Major writer's block. Rewrote many times but I'm still not fully satisfied with this chapter. Thank you all for the follows and favourites and the continued support even though I keep dragging updates_

* * *

 **-CHAPTER 8-**

 _Isn't it better to regret things you've done,_

 _than regret things you've never even tried?_

 _-Inio Asano_

* * *

Lori had laughed, at the thought of the Cullens being like Dracula. The image of them draped in long black cloaks with sharp fangs dripping red, seemed like something out of a budget horror movie.

Looking at Emmett now, she didn't feel like laughing at all.

Lori swallowed hard. It was just the two of them in the dark alley now.

When the last of the men had scattered, no longer in sight, Emmett turned around to face her. He didn't move at all after that. Instead, he just stood there, half hidden in the shadows, watching her.

She watched him just as warily. The light of the lamp post was dim, but she could make out that his eyes had turned back to amber. What that meant, she didn't know, but it made him look slightly less intimidating.

The image of how he looked before was still seared into her mind. His face twisted in an absolutely feral expression, teeth bared in a snarl and eyes pitch black as he glared at the men running away. It was unfamiliar but it didn't look out of place even though she had never seen him like this. It looked like it was a part of him just as much as his sunny smiles were.

It felt like forever, before Emmett eventually made the first move. He took one careful step, and when she didn't react, he took another and another, until he was standing before her.

Lori couldn't find any words to say. Her only response was to lift her head so she could better look at him as his tall stature towered over her on the ground.

On the other hand, Emmett looked like he had tons to say. She could see his jaw working, probably thinking hard. However, none of it made it past his lips.

Instead, he mutely offered her a hand.

"I know what you are..." She dazedly muttered out, unable to tear her gaze away from him.

Emmett's hand dropped back to his side when she didn't move. His eyes bored into her as he silently stood in front of her.

Lori paused. The words were on the tip of her tongue. She had already decided, hadn't she? Yet, the words wouldn't come easily. The statuesque way his face was set wasn't that much helpful either.

Finally, with all the determination she could gather, she spoke firmly. The words that she knew would seal her fate. "Stop looking at me like you're waiting for me to freak out. I'm not."

The moment she uttered those words, Lori felt as though her shoulders were tons lighter. She watched as Emmett's expression went through a variety of emotions, bypassing confusion before finally settling on elation.

"You're not afraid? Even though you know what we are?" It looked like Emmett was an inch away from bouncing on the spot, the way he beamed down at her.

Lori's lips twitched at the sight of his childlike grin. His smile was extremely contagious and it struck her that it felt like ages since she had seen him smile. All they had been doing recently was fighting and dodging around each other with their respective secrets.

She squashed the flutters in her chest down for what she had to say next. She wasn't finished yet. "Oh, I'm not, but I'm wondering if _you_ will be."

"Why would I be afraid of my family? We're all the same, aren't we?" His eyebrows scrunched together endearingly.

"Not your family." She sighed, casting him a withering look. Was he playing stupid or did he really not know what she was referring to? Wasn't it obvious? "I meant _me_."

His brow only furrowed deeper. "Me? Of you? Why?"

Frustration at his constant ignorance - whether genuine or pretend - reared it's head and Lori gestured at herself wildly. "Because of _this_!"

"Unless you're talking about the dreadful bird's nest you've got going on your head, there's nothing remotely scary about you, sweetheart." He drawled, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Emmett, between the two of us, I think _I'm_ the monster." Lori continued on as though he hadn't spoken. She had to get it all out now. Gathering her courage a second time would be impossible.

Emmett's eyes bugged out and he laughed incredulously before it trailed off to an awkward stop when he caught sight of the look on Lori's face. "Oh. You're not joking."

"..Your brother didn't tell you?"

At his clueless expression, Lori cursed. She went into this, thinking that the Cullens already knew about her powers. But they didn't?! Her plans and contingency plans were all screwed now.

Lori couldn't wrap her head around it. Edward hadn't spilled the beans? There was no way he didn't know about her, the way she had practically shoved her powers in his face by stopping the van like that. He didn't even tell his family members?

Oh God, she'd have to be nice to him now. For a while, at least.

"Tell me what?" Emmett crouched down in front of her, noticing her hesitance and worry. He gently took hold of her hand. "Whatever it is, it can't be as surprising as a bloodsucking creature from horror books being real."

"I'm one of those too, book – more like comic, whatever – characters coming to life. Look, I just think about it and it happens."

Her eyes flicked downwards and his gaze naturally followed her line of sight down to his shoes. As he watched, his shoelaces moved by themselves as though invisible fingers were carefully untying them. At his disbelieving expression, the shoelaces slowly waved at him before tying themselves back into a tight knot as if to confirm that no, his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

"Wow, that's actually awesome." A grin slowly broke out on Emmett's face. "Do you think that works on vampires too? We could do a little play-fighting!"

Struck by the utter ridiculousness of that idea, a hearty laugh bubbled up out of her. Out of all the things he could have said, he chose that? He didn't think she was a freak, or scary. And judging by that statement, Emmett wanted to continue spending time with her!

Her eyes started stinging with hot tears as she came to that realization. He was genuine and warm, warmer than most of the people she had ever met, despite his fingers always feeling like they had been dipped in a bowl of ice water for hours.

"Hey, no, sweetheart, why are you crying?" Lori felt his hands cup her cheeks, and the earnest way he was reacting to her tears only made her sob harder.

It looked like actually taking the leap of faith worked this time.

Lori peered up at him. "You really mean that?"

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" The cute little confused smile he gave her, while staring into her eyes, only made her heart clench harder. He was still talking about that spar, the silly man.

She couldn't help but laugh. They weren't talking about the same thing, but either way, his words had truly reassured her. "Nothing, I'm just happy."

There, forgetting that they were still on the grimy floor in that dirty little alley, they smiled at each other. Neither one wanted to break the peace that came with making up with a precious friend after a long fight.

Eventually though, all good things had to come to an end.

Unable to tolerate the complaints from her knees any longer, Lori made to stand up, after having been on the floor for god knows how long. She easily accepted Emmett's offered hand of support when her stiff knees protested the movement.

A breathless 'wow' involuntarily tumbled out when he hauled her up and Lori blushed at his smirk. She made a mental note to watch out for their hearing range whenever she needed a secretgirl talk with Bella.

Speaking of which, they were way past the agreed time for dinner at that Italian restaurant. The sky was already pitch-black. She wasn't really hungry anymore, not after the whirlwind of events, but she felt guilty for making the two girls wait. They were likely to be worried and angry.

"I don't suppose you know where the Italian restaurant is?"

"Which one?"

"I don't know." All of a sudden, Lori felt like the stupidest human being on Earth. She winced. "I can't remember the name but it's somewhere near the boardwalk?"

He laughed, gave her a hair a ruffle and effortlessly dodged her flailing hands when she tried to protest. Honestly, she shouldn't have tried, Lori realised on hindsight. He jerked his head to the side, indicating the direction they should move in. "Something Lori Swan doesn't have. A sense of direction."

Lori flushed, but she had no retort. It was indeed the truth. She couldn't even hit him because she'd be more likely to break her hand. Out of options, Lori could only settle for sulking and ignoring his attempts for conversation. She could tell her silence was getting under his skin and a vindictive satisfaction coursed through her, until that one comment.

"Earlier, you and Bella were lost because of you too, huh."

"How did you-?" Lori gasped when a thought struck her. "Wait, how did you and Edward know we were in trouble? Were you stalking us?"

Emmett gaped at her. His mouth opened and closed uselessly under her indignant stare. "We weren't!" He yelped, seeming honestly offended at that insinuation. "We were nearby because we were worried! Edward was keeping track of your thoughts just in case something happened!"

Lori crossed her arms, lips pursed.

"Yeah, you ending up _nearby_ is what I call stalking." She scoffed. "And what the hell is _keeping track of my thoughts_?"

Emmett quailed even further at that. She had no doubt that if vampires weren't already as white as death, his face would be pale. He chuckled – a forced one, judging from the sound of it – running a hand through his hair. She knew that was his nervous tick. "About that.. I'll tell you later. Look! There's the restaurant!"

She narrowed her eyes at Emmett, hoping it conveyed the message of _this-isn't-over_ , before turning to squint at the restaurant across the street. The silhouettes of Angela and Jessica were vaguely recognisable at a table by the glass windows.

* * *

It took much more effort than Lori thought it would to get the two girls to leave first.

It was a pleasant surprise, that the two girls were so worried. Lori hadn't realised that they cared so much for her and Bella. It was to the point where they were unwilling to leave even after Lori had given them the cover story. She had apparently gotten separated from Bella after taking a wrong turn somewhere then, bumped into the Cullen brothers resulting in Edward going to look for Bella while Emmett walked her back.

Jessica, Lori had found, was really just a mush of cotton candy with a prickly exterior. Her concern and worry, unlike Angela who wore her heart on her sleeve, was masked with cutting remarks that would have raised Lori's hackles before today. As it was, Lori's lips only twitched up in an indulging smile.

["I wasn't really worried." Jessica sniffed, tossing her hair back. "Don't look at me like that!"]

Jessica and Angela eventually relented after some coaxing from Emmett. Figures it'd be the dashing good looks and alluring voice that finally set them at ease, Lori thought dryly. It had taken tremendous restraint to not snicker at the star-struck looks in between the worry and concern. Either way, judging by the surreptitious glances shot her way, Lori supposed she would be in for an interrogation the next time they met. Though she couldn't really fault them, anyone would get severe whiplash with how hot and cold her friendship with Emmett had been. Hopefully, now that both of their secrets were out of the bag, she'd be able to get some stability.

Looking away from the retreating backs of her friends, Lori was about to ask Emmett about how long Bella and Edward were going to take, only for the words to die at the tip of her tongue. How long had he been staring at her? Her skin prickled self-consciously.

"Stop that," She grumbled petulantly. "I'm not going to run around screaming my head off about what you are."

"I know." His eyes were warm.

"Then why..?"

He gave her a knowing smile, before asking, "Hungry?"

"Uh, what?" Was he ever going to stop giving her whiplash?

"We might as well go in to wait instead of standing out here. You haven't eaten, have you?" He led her into the restaurant with a steady hand on her back.

Lori found herself seated at a table, a glass of warm water shoved into her hands and a menu laid out in front of her before she could even utter a word of protest.

"You need to eat."

" _You need to eat_." Lori mimicked his demanding tone. She made no move to look over the menu.

His response was a single snort. The next second, the glass of water was nimbly plucked out of her hands and replaced with the menu.

She gaped at him for a while before she gave up and started flicking through the menu none too gently. Honestly, she was indeed hungry though his forceful behaviour was making her irritated. What happened to asking nicely?

When he waved the waitress away without ordering anything for himself, she immediately connected the dots about vampiric diet. "Great, you don't eat food. Hanging out with you is going to make me look like a pig. Yippee."

"That's your only concern?" He chuckled in disbelief. "Not about what I actually eat?"

"Blood, obviously, but you're clearly not going to drag me into a dark alley and tear my throat out or something." She huffed, cradling the glass of water in her hands again. The warmth seeping into her skin was oddly soothing. "What's more important is you looking at me weirdly and treating me like a child."

"How so?"

"You're.." Suddenly, his behaviour didn't seem as patronizing as before. The annoyance drained out of her and she slumped in her seat. "You're taking care of me."

"Your hands aren't trembling anymore." He nodded in confirmation.

"Thanks." Lori murmured softly. She'd never really had someone making sure she took care of herself. Renee never cared too much about the adult aspect of life and her carefree nature only got more carefree the older her daughters grew. Before long, the Swan sisters were mostly independent and looking after the house by themselves. Lori had to look after her family, she _needed_ to.

She fixed her eyes on the plate of pasta before her, uncertain of how to meet Emmett's penetrating gaze. Thankfully, the sound of the all-too-familiar Volvo cut through the silence, saving her from the increasing awkwardness.

Lori watched, slightly envious, as the silver car roared up to the curb then, smoothly reversed and parallel-parked in one go.

Without even a glance around, Edward directed Bella into the restaurant, heading for their table like he knew from the start where she and Emmett were.

As the pair came nearer, Lori gave Bella a once-over, checking her from head to toe for any discomfort or wounds. Nothing was out of the ordinary, except the slight furrow to her eyebrows like Bella was frustrated. Guessing that Edward must not have been very forthcoming with satisfying Bella's curiosity, Lori's gaze flicked to the other Cullen. She inadvertently caught the strange look Edward gave Emmett, lips pursed into a line as though she and Emmett were doing something highly scandalous. Even stranger was the déjà vu that happened next. Bella was nudged into the seat next to her, menu shoved into her hands, and the same command was given out once again. "Eat."

What was with the Cullen men and making sure they ate?

Bella shot her sister a bewildered look, much like a deer caught in the headlights. Lori only rolled her eyes with a jerk of her head at Emmett, pointedly shoveling another forkful of pasta into her mouth.

The dinner that followed was extremely peculiar.

All four participants were silent, apart from the occasional reminder to eat from the Cullens. Mostly, it was just a lot of glances along with the clanking of utensils against the plates. And, Edward was exceptionally maddening.

His attention alternated between making sure Bella was actually eating and not just shuffling her food around the plate, and her. It was getting creepier and creepier to feel his gaze on her.

Lori tilted her head back to stare him down challengingly. Just what the hell was he playing at?

After some time, her fork finally had no more pasta to swirl around and she could put her full focus on glaring at the younger Cullen. Alas, the moment she put her fork down, wanting to cross her arms for more effect, Emmett spoke up.

"Alright, we'll make a move first." He stood, tugging Lori along with a hand on her upper arm.

"What?!" Lori balked. "I'm not leaving Bella alone with him!"

"Lori!" Bella hissed. "He's right here!"

"Do I look like I care? I don't know what's his deal with you and I don't trust him!"

"Lori," Edward stood too, looking conflicted for a moment before promising earnestly. "I swear I will send Bella home safely."

"Yeah, that means jack to me."

"Lori!"

"Look, it's not because you're _whatever_ that I'm doing this." Edward's eyes widened but Lori plowed on. "All I know is that you're always making Bella angry or sad-"

"Lori!" Bella cried out indignantly, face flushed. "Go. Home."

"Lori," Emmett said lowly, turning her to face him. "Let them have their talk."

"Fine. Fine!" She brandished a finger in Edward's face. "Don't you dare to-"

"Lori!" Bella's face couldn't possibly get any redder by now. "Just go!"

"Alright! I'm going, I'm going!" Throwing one last glare at Edward, Lori stormed out of the restaurant.

"You know as well as I do that they need to settle things between them." Emmett piped up as he caught up to her.

"But I don't like it." She grouched.

"Aw, don't sulk, mama bear." Emmett grinned, gently catching her hand when she tried to swat him. "Nope, can't do that or you'll have a broken hand."

"What am I supposed to do when you're being annoying then?"

He hummed thoughtfully, before smirking. "Just do what you're doing now. You look like a kitten when you're angry. A snarling and spitting ball of fluff. It's cute."

"Oh, that's not at all patronizing, is it?" Lori growled. "Shut up."

Emmett only laughed. The sound was so contagious that Lori walked faster so that he wouldn't see her struggle to maintain her angry expression.

She could still hear him chuckling, but he dutifully kept silent and left her to stew in her frustration once more.

He kept following her silently for a long while, always a step behind at her side, never nearer nor further. She also knew that the occasional scuff of his shoe against the gravel was intentionally done so that she knew he was still there.

She didn't want to give in and start talking first. It kind of felt like she'd lose if she did, but she couldn't take it anymore. It had been bothering for a while now. She couldn't ignore the niggling question in the back of her mind now that she wasn't as irritated as before.

"Emmett." She stopped and turned around to look at him. He cocked his head at her questioningly. "Tell me the truth."

His eyebrows furrowed. "What is it? Are you finally curious about what I am?"

"Are we stranded?"

He stared at her for so long, eyes nearly popping out, that she was starting to become flustered.

Emmett and Edward had come in the same car, yet Edward, the car, and Bella were all back at the restaurant. She didn't think her question was ridiculous enough to deserve such a response from Emmett. Furthermore, she'd been blindly walking in her fury and had absolutely no idea where they were or which direction Forks was even in.

She told him as much, and he exploded, body shuddering and heaving from his laughter.

Finally, he straightened up, expression turning serious all of a sudden as he asked. "Do you get motion-sickness?"

"What? No.." It was her turn to stare at him like he was crazy.

"Do you trust me?" His amber eyes were gleaming with a spark of something. Lori would later come to realise the meaning of that spark; it happened too many times for her to not find out. It meant he was up to no good.

She narrowed her eyes at him, feeling like she'd regret it if she said yes. Unfortunately, she couldn't bring herself to lie to him.

Lori nodded. "I do."

* * *

She regretted it.


End file.
